


Pokemon Summit

by Redenzione



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-09
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2017-12-10 21:25:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 143,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/790330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redenzione/pseuds/Redenzione
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In times of great need some of the most powerful and respected Pokemon trainers, breeders, researchers and their Pokemon come together to fight a common enemy, however this time they have no idea as to who or what the enemy is. Having been summoned by an old friend, Ash Ketchum makes his way to the Indigo Plateau to face not only an unknown evil, but to also confront his past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Pokemon, nor any of it's affiliates.

**Chapter one.**

* * *

 

 

The Arcanine that had been found was sent to the nearest Pokémon Centre and carefully monitored for any further erratic behavior. Nurse Joy had told them that neither she, nor any of the other Doctors knew what was wrong with it, but it was showing the same symptoms as the others and inevitably, just like the other Pokémon found, those symptoms would lead to death.

The Elite Four watched from the meeting room, the big screen showed not only the worried face of Nurse Joy– explaining the latest bite marks and odd symbols the Arcanine had tried to scratch into himself, but also the Pokémon.

The once glorious mane was matted and there were large clumps missing, Arcanine was skinny – you could see its ribs and no matter how much or what kind of food was given to the poor Pokémon, it would be found the next morning, vomited up.

The scratches were deep, some had been stitched up but then re-opened by Arcanine, some of them had become infected and were starting to ooze. The scratches – thought once just to be a form of mental self-harm, were now more than that. The closest any could compare them to were some kind of ancient runes, all unrecognizable.

The worst were the eyes, the blank, unseeing eyes. Like there was nothing left inside the poor Pokémon but to get these symbols displayed somewhere.

They had sedated the poor creature for now, but it wouldn’t be too long before the Pokémon awoke and would no doubt start the scratching again.

Nurse Joy looked as devastated as Lance felt as she relayed the latest information, or lack thereof that they had, “I’m sorry Master Lance, but we still have no ideas as to what could be causing this kind of behavior.”

The Dragon Master did his best to curb his frustration on the matter entirely, but found that he couldn’t help digging his nails into the large table in front of him.

“Thank you for the update Nurse Joy,” Agatha interjected as gently and soothingly as she could in the current situation. She knew the lack of progress was getting to Lance, he was a ‘do-er’ a man of action, he liked to get things done. However, there were processes and systems that had to be used by the Elite Four in the name of the Indigo Plateau in times like this; they were slow and cautious – not good for a man like Lance.

Lorelei and Bruno also murmured their thanks while Nurse Joy bowed her head in recognition, Lance gave a swift jerk of his head to show his appreciation and the video link was severed.

There were a few moments of silence before Lance pushed back from his chair and gave a loud roar of frustration and banged his fists on the table. He took deep breaths in and out trying to calm himself down, the rest of the group was quiet and let him get out his aggravation and rage.

“It has been,” Lance began in a shaky voice “four months and no change.” His head was bowed as he spoke, he didn’t want them to see the censure in his eyes although there was no doubt they knew what he felt. “Four months of countless, senseless death with no immediate respite or potential treatment for these afflicted Pokémon.”

“Lance-“ Lorelei tried to interject but was cut off.

“I will not stand around anymore and let it continue!” Lance said loudly as though daring someone to argue.

“And what do you suppose we do? Send in our own Pokémon in to suffer the same fate?” Lorelei spat back with a glare for the Dragon Master.

“No, I propose I send myself in!”

There was another silence, this time it was shock that kept the other members of the Kanto Elite Four from speaking.

Satisfied, Lance finally sat down and waited for the inevitable backlash.

“We cannot permit that Lance,” Agatha spoke up again after a time. Lance scoffed loudly and turned to look at her, “I don’t need your permission-”

“As the Champion you are permitted certain-”

“I am through sitting around like a bunch of stuck-up-”

“-leniencies but let me be rightly understood!” Lance broke off at Agatha’s terse tone. It wasn’t often that the woman raised her voice, so when she did it was rare that anyone would interrupt her.

“You are not going,” Agatha spoke each word harshly, “I refuse-” she continued and raised an eyebrow at Lance who had opened his mouth only to shut it again, “to send our _Champion_ to a place from which none of our messengers have come back and from where Pokémon have come back completely out of their minds.”

Lance clenched his jaw and turned to look away from Agatha’s hard gaze, “then what do you suggest?” he returned almost petulantly and looked around at the group, “the first suggestion, ‘waiting and seeing what will happen’ was a complete bust, shock horror.”

“It’s better than running head-first into something we know nothing about,” Bruno finally spoke up, Lance did his best not to roll his eyes, “if we had done that, then all of us could have lost our Pokémon and then where would we be, we could hardly call ourselves the Elite then.”

“And what if one of us had come back with information, vital information that we may need?’ Lance argued back, “we are the Elite Four for a reason – we and our Pokémon are stronger than your average messenger.”

“The rules state-”

Lance groaned loudly, “hang the bloody rules –there as old as anything made by bitter old men who never wanted to do anything but sit on their own power.”

“Be that as it may Lance,” Agatha couldn’t help the amusement in her voice at Lance’s accurate description of the first Elite Four, “they are there for a reason, and you as Champion should adhere to them most of all.”

Lance couldn’t help but curse bitterly, being Champion did have its perks but as always those perks also came with rules and regulations, two things Lance had never been fond of. “Well then what?” Lance threw up a hand and brought back down on the wooden armrest of his chair just as carelessly, “I can’t send my Pokémon or myself out to investigate and-”

Lance stopped as screen blinked suddenly and a beeping sound came through the speakers indicating someone wished to speak with them. “It’s from the front gate,” Agatha murmured, “it’s coming in as urgent,” she added, surprised.

Lance touched the buttons on the desk in front of him, almost immediately one of the guards faces popped up, his voice was shaky and his face pale “f-forgive me Masters,” his greeting bow was hardly that, he could barely bend over properly he was shaking so much.

“Not at all,” Agatha spoke up “please tell us what has happened.” The rest of the Elite Four exchanged glances while the guard nodded as best he could and tried to control himself. “I think… it’s best if you are shown…I…we…” the stuttering guard was replaced with the pavement outside the Indigo Plateau.

The video link had been transferred to a hand-held camera and someone was narrating what had happened while walking down past the gateway, “none of the guards saw what happened, it was a blink-and-you-miss - it sort of a deal. One minute nothing was there and the next…” Lance sat further up in his chair as the walking slowed down and the rest of the Elite Four leaned forward to get a better look at what was so urgent.

“Please be warned,” the narrator’s voice came again, “it’s quite graphic.” Slowly the camera panned up, first small trails of red came into view - blood. It had yet to dry and was slowly making its way towards to camera holder’s feet. The first thing that came into few was a naked male torso, Lorelei let out a small cry and averted her face as the torso was revealed to have no arm, just a gaping hole.

The camera panned over the body and Lance felt himself go rigid, as it turned out - there were no arms or legs on the entire torso, just four gaping holes where the limbs should have been. Agatha let out a gasp, the eyes were gone from the head and the tongue was missing.

“Wait,” Lance spoke up quickly as the camera left the body, “go back to it.”

“Lance, please! “ Lorelei let out a plea, her face was still averted and she was extremely pale.

“Don’t look then, but – stop! There.” The camera was fixated on the chest and carved into the flesh was a symbol – a familiar looking rune.

“That’s-” Agatha stood up and pointed to the screen, her shock was evident.

Lance’s face was grim as he turned off the video call without a word and Lorelei let out a sob of relief, “it exactly the same as what is on the Arcanine. “ Lance finished Agatha’s sentence and the older woman slumped back into her chair, speechless.

“Not only that, he was one of our messengers,” Lance’s head shot up as did Agatha’s to stare at Bruno. The quiet martial artist was staring hard at the wooden table and not meeting anyone’s eyes, “I recognized the face, or what was left of it.”

The only sound in the room for a while was Lorelei’s intake of breath as she tried to control herself not to cry; Lance and Bruno were staring at the table while Agatha was sitting upright in her chair, her face extremely pale.

“Aren’t you glad you listened to us now?” Lorelei spoke up finally, her voice was tight with emotion and Lance didn’t even bother to answer her jab.

When he spoke it was more towards Agatha, trying to garner her permission more than anyone else’s, “Something has to be done, what is happening to the Pokémon is bad enough, but that…defilement of a human body…” Lance swallowed hard, still trying to take in all that he had just seen. He turned in his seat to face Agatha more clearly; she was still pale and seemed to not be altogether there. “Agatha, please let me go. We - I cannot keep sitting here and do _nothing_.”

Lorelei and Bruno both turned their attentions to Agatha, the older woman stared at the room walls for a while before finally giving her answer, “we wait-”

“WE CANNOT KEEP WAITING!” Lance finally exploded loudly; he stood up from his chair and walked around the wooden desk. He pointed to the screen, “Did you not see what was just on the screen?” He looked around wildly at Lorelei, Bruno and Agatha, “What if it happens again? What if it never stops?”

He let that sink in for a few moments before walking back around to the front of the table and placed both hands on it to lean, “what if it starts happening to Pokémon?” He finally asked, “could you bear seeing that on your screen? When you were one of four that maybe could have done something about it?”

He clenched his right hand into a fist and took a moment before standing up straight to look at Agatha, “we need a plan and right now we don’t have time to waste, I don’t want to disrespect any of you but as of now I’m through playing the game. None of you can stop me from going.” Lance’s ultimatum rang through the room; he was still staring directly at Agatha who still hadn’t made any acknowledgement to his words.

Lorelei was looking worriedly at both Agatha and Lance; Bruno had quietly stood during Lance’s speech, as if getting ready to stop Lance at Agatha’s command.

Finally, Agatha let out a loud sigh and shook her head gently, she turned her head up to look at Lance – she suddenly looked much older to him, he found he didn’t like it. “We wait-”

“Agatha-!”

“-for the replies.”

Lance closed his mouth abruptly and the three all turned to look at Agatha who was starting to rise out of her seat, “None of us have any idea what we are dealing with, none of the professors have come back with anything concrete and our messengers have come back mutilated. Our Pokémon are becoming or being turned mentally unstable and none of us have any clues as to the cause, nor how to stop it. I think we are all well out of our depth.”

Agatha turned her steely gaze upon Lance, “We need to prepare. Lance was right – we need answers, we need a plan and I don’t think we can do this by ourselves. Elite we may be however, there are many out there who have seen and done a lot more than we have.” She raised an eyebrow at Lance who nodded briefly.

“What are you saying Agatha?” Lorelei asked and her concern was palpable.

The older woman took a deep breath, “I am saying we need to prepare for a Summit.”

“There hasn’t been a Summit in over a century.” Lorelei finally managed to gasp out.

“Your point?” Lance asked belligerently while rolling his eyes and turning away from the group.

“My point,” Lorelei returned heatedly also standing up, “is that is it really necessary to go that far? In the time since the Elite Four’s inception there have only been two Summit’s, the last one happening before any of us were even born! How can we be sure that this calls for such an event?”

“Because we have no other alternative, “Agatha returned, “Our first choice did not work.” Lance snorted which Agatha chose to ignore, “and we cannot risk sending out more precious lives with nothing to show for it, if you have any other ideas please say them. I did not come upon this decision lightly.”

Lorelei didn’t say anything in reply and Agatha nodded shortly, “so then, what say you Master Bruno?”

“Yes.” Bruno spoke without hesitation.

Agatha nodded, “you already all know my answer – yes, what say you Master Lorelei?”

Bruno turned to look at her and Lance turned his head into profile so that he could gauge her reaction. For a Summit to happen, all of the Elite Four had to agree, if one did not – then the Summit would not take place and another alternative would have to be found. Agatha was confident that Lance would agree to the Summit, if nothing else it called for more action and more ideas – something that was desperately needed and he responded well to.

To Agatha, Lorelei was the wild card, the unknown. By the sound of it she didn’t want to have a Summit; the rareness of such an event meant that in only the direst of circumstances were they held, owning up to that and not being able to fix a problem was something none of them, as the Elite Four, wanted to own up to.

Lorelei’s “yes” was quiet but not hesitant, and Agatha sent her a smile to show her appreciation. She turned her attention to Lance who had turned his head back and now all the three could see was his back.

“What say you, Master Lance?”

He could feel their stares on his back, his arms were crossed and his clenched his fists into the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt. A part of him wanted to say no and take the risk, take the chance that he alone could figure it out and then they wouldn’t have to involve anyone else to get potentially hurt. He knew it was foolish, but the idea of a Summit was so extreme – Agatha bringing it up meant that she was scared. It meant that she didn’t know what to do, their options were not extensive and she didn’t want him to end up like that messenger.

He turned to his thoughts back to the Arcanine he had seen earlier and then imagined his Pokémon suffering the same fate, looking it from that perspective made the decision easy.

He didn’t bother turning around in the end, “yes.”

Agatha took in a deep breath in; the atmosphere around them seemed to feel more charged with their unanimous decision, “right, you all know what to do.”

Bruno and Lorelei nodded, Agatha looked at Lance who was still standing with his back to them, “make it in a month’s time,” Agatha continued, “it should be long enough for the letters to get where they need to and for those to make the journey here. Lorelei and I will see to the accommodation here in the Plateau, Bruno – you make sure Victory Road is still cut off at the other end. I don’t want anyone coming through there.”

Lorelei and Bruno both nodded and headed off to their respective chambers to prepare their summoning letters. After they had left Agatha walked over to Lance and touched his arm gently “I know it’s not what you wanted and I understand that time is of the essence-”

“I won’t go.” Lance interrupted quietly; he touched the hand on his arm gently before disentangling himself and heading to the exit.

A few hours later Lance stood on the battlements of the Indigo Plateau looking towards Victory Road, if it wasn’t for the letter in his hand he may have just released his Dragonite and flew over there himself.

Victory Road was a challenge in and of itself, it was a victory just getting through the damn thing let alone challenging many trainers after that and then the Elite Four. Very few managed to conquer all of that, the Elite Four and Lance were some on a very short list that had managed to make it to the finals and win, then following that beat a member of the Elite to take their place.

Lance could only think of two that had beaten him, he didn’t know where one had gone – if he was even still alive. His summons had been sent earlier with some of the Pidgeot kept at the Plateau. The other – Lance held the summons for in his hand, it was probably the most important letter that was to be sent out and as such he would only entrust it to his fastest Dragonite. It needed to reach him.

He reached a hand down to his Pokéball strapped to his waist and tapped twice, almost immediately his Dragonite popped out of the ball. The Pokémon did a couple of lazy circles in the air to stretch itself out before turning her full attention on Lance.

Lance held out the letter and holder, “this is important. I need you to take this to Ash Ketchum and it needs to get there as fast as possible and without fail.”

Dragonite took the letter gently from Lance and stared at it for a few moments before looking back at her Master, Lance shook the holder gently to encourage his Pokémon to get on with things. “Please, I need you to do this for me. I know it’s nothing I’ve ever asked of you before but-”

Lance broke off as the holder was taken from his hands, he watched as the letter was placed in the holder which was then strapped around his Pokémon. “Thank you, you remember Ash?”

Lance smiled gently as his Pokémon gave him a disgruntled look, “I know you don’t like losing, but he did earn it. Maybe we have become too lax with our training.” Lance added that last bit slyly and was rewarded with a small slap to the face by Dragonite’s tail as she zoomed off in to the sunset.

Lance watched his Pokémon go fondly, he knew Dragonite would do what he had asked to the very best of his ability but the feeling of loss – of not having his Pokémon close to him was something that didn’t sit too well with him.

More than anything, Lance hoped that Ash would answer his summons. Technically he should have been answering Ash’s but Ash had never wanted to be Champion, staying in one place wasn’t his forte.

Lance slowly made his way down the battlements to get back inside the Plateau; all there was left to do now was to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two.

* * *

 

Ash was dozing lightly beneath the large Willow tree, he was resting his chin on his clavicle and his cap was pushed down to hide his face from the brief slivers of sunlight that cut through the gently swinging branches and splayed onto his face. The heat of the sun was a nice contrast to the gentle breeze; the river they were resting near was crystal clear and shimmering in the sunlight.

He could hear Brock pottering around getting food ready for their lunch; Dawn was splashing around with Piplup near the river. Her shrieking and the splashing of water stopped him from sleeping completely.

His legs were stretched out and crossed at the ankles, Pikachu rested on his legs where a large beam of sunlight came down and wasn’t blocked by the droopy branches. It had been a while since they had stopped for any great period of time –even overnighters in towns were just that, they would arrive into the nearest town at night with barely anytime to check into Pokémon Centers at all - if they weren’t full to begin with, and then would keep going early that next morning.

Their travelling had not only worn them down but their Pokémon as well, when they had found the idyllic spot it had been an easy decision to sit down, take a load off and rest for however long they deemed necessary.

“Not a cloud in the sky!” Dawn sighed happily as she came back up the riverbank with a chirping Piplup. Ash nodded gently and continued dozing against his tree, the two sat in silence with their Pokémon enjoying the sunshine.

Dawn didn’t last long to Ash’s amusement, she and Piplup were full of energy even with the amount of non-stop travelling they had done recently. Ash could hear Brock patiently answering Dawn’s questions about lunch and possibly dinner, trying to block out the voices Ash breathed in the scent of the area and nearby flowers native to the region.

“Fancy a battle, Trainers?” Ash finally cracked open his eyes and turned his head up so he could have a look from under his cap visor. Two young Trainers stood on the road looking down at them; Ash quickly surveyed the Pokéball’s held in a belt at each of their waists – six each. He wondered how many actually had a Pokémon in them.

Brock raised a hand in greeting with a genial smile on his face while Dawn waved energetically and greeted them loudly, “hi!”

The two trainers came off the road and made their way towards their small camp, Ash was content to sit and watch as the two nosied around their camp uncaring of how rude they were being. Ash was pretty sure they hadn’t noticed him yet; he could feel Pikachu’s ears twitching and knew that his Pokémon was awake and aware they had company.

“Nice little set-up you have here,” they complimented the cooking utensils and such that Brock had picked up over their many years of travelling, they were happy and friendly but Ash had felt the implied ruthless challenge they had offered a few moments before.

Dawn was already up from her seat next to the cooker, eager to talk to new people. Brock was more cautious; he sent a subtle but telling look to Ash who threw up a quick hand gesture to show he was awake and aware of what was happening.

Ash knew that Brock was more than capable of taking on most trainers; however the two of them knew better than to underestimate any trainer, especially in the situation they were in. Already their Pokémon were tired and they will still fairly far from the nearest Pokémon centre that any of them knew of. Dawn, while being a more than capable coordinator still wasn’t the most intuitive trainer and tended to focus too much on flowery attacks and not enough on her defense.

The last thing they needed was an over-the-top battle with some hot-shot young trainers who didn’t know when to give up and would no-doubt send out some powerful attack just to show-off.

“Where are you guys headed?” The two Trainers looked at each other before answering Dawn’s question, “Not really sure, just the nearest town. “

Dawn nodded lightly, “where did you start from?” She continued her conversation with the two as Brock finished their food preparation. Although she probably didn’t know it, Dawn was helping to provide Ash with useful information. His eyes had narrowed when they had answered Dawn’s first question, it was a fair distance between towns – for the two to be so cavalier about their journey made Ash wonder what exactly it was they were doing out on the road.

While there was the obvious – collecting badges to enter into the region’s league, there was also heading to towns that held competitions for Coordinators and such. As far as Ash was aware, there were no competitions for coordinators in the nearest town – nor was there a gym to prepare for battles.

Many trainers had no set goal in mind and just set off on journey with their Pokémon; however by the looks of these guys Ash suspected that it wasn’t quite the case, he also wondered as to the state of their Pokémon.

“So how’s about that battle?”One of the trainers managed to sneak in between Dawn’s continuous questions – he clipped off a Pokéball from his belt and let it fly into the air to release a menacing looking Furret.

Dawn, in the middle of one her questions stopped briefly and turned to look at Brock who finally stood-up. “Thanks, but we are here for a rest not a battle. You’re welcome to share our lunch with us before you continue on your way.”

The once friendly look had now vanished from the trainer’s faces at Brock’s suggestion, “you can’t reject an offer of a battle!” It was the only response Brock received before the Furret suddenly launched into a tackle meant for Piplup.

“Hey!” Dawn shouted, Brock’s hand flew to his belt but Ash got there first.

“Pikachu – Thundershock,” with a quick leap out Pickachu had sent a strong electric current towards the Furret who let out a squeak of pain when the shock met its intended target.

Piplup had fainted and was now resting in Dawn’s arms; Dawn was sitting behind Brock who had released his Forretress in defense of himself and Dawn.

Ash idly walked over to the two trainers, he kept his face deliberately obscured – the last thing he needed was people seeking him out for more battles when they heard he was around. Pikachu was having a stare-down with the opposing Furret.

The two trainers had balked at Ash’s arrival “where did you come from?” One asked while looking around, as if he had magically sprung up from a hole in the ground.

“Are we battling or not?” Ash responded, not even bothering to answer the question. Pikachu let sparks fly out of his cheeks as a challenge, to the Furret’s credit he didn’t back down although his trainer now didn’t look as willing.

Ash finally surmised they had thought Dawn and Brock easy targets, easy to win against. Young trainers with big egos – yet not willing to play with the big boys, little did they know that had any of them been at full strength, all three of them could probably lay waste to the two trainers.

“One-on-one, your Furret against Pikachu,” Ash spoke commandingly and barely giving the trainer time to nod his agreement, Ash gave Pikachu his next attach.

“Pikachu – Iron Tail.”

Pikachu darted forward and his tail started glowing in preparation.

“Hold up!” The Trainer with the Furret shouted loudly and with a panicked tone, he held up his hands up in a surrender gesture, however with one well-practiced flick of its tail Pikachu connected with the Furret’s mid-section and sent the poor Pokémon flying backwards up and onto the road.

“Furret!” Its trainer almost fell up the bank in its hurry to see the Pokémon; Ash kept a close eye as he watched the Furret push away its Trainers help to get up and slowly stood up. It was shaking from the effort and one of its eyes was half closed, Ash didn’t want to smile but he couldn’t help it – the Pokémon had more guts than the two Trainers combined, he waited patiently while the Furret made its way down the grassy bank back to face Pikachu.

Looking at the sheen of its coat, Ash noted that the Pokémon was probably very well cared for but like their little gang, these two trainers had probably been travelling a lot and didn’t realize the effect it would have on their Pokémon. Pokémon didn’t automatically heal once they went back into a Pokéball and by the looks of the Furret and how in only two moves Pikachu – even in his own tiredness – had managed to reduce Furret to this state; Ash reckoned that these two trainers probably hadn’t understood that fully.

Finally stumbling back into place the Furret straightened itself and waited patiently for its trainer’s next command.

Ash took a peek at the two trainers – they had followed the Pokémon back down the bank but now looked at a loss at what to do next. Ash surmised they had probably thought that the match would end after two moves –from their side.

“Are you going to call out a move?” Ash lowered his head back down slightly, Brock was standing to the side of the make-shift arena and was looking seriously at the two trainers opposite Ash while waiting for them to answer him, “if you are not going to call out a command for your Pokémon than this match will be forfeit and you will lose.”

It seemed to wake them out of their stupor, the two trainers quickly came together and started whispering, Ash smiled to himself as he watched Brock roll his eyes – he turned around quickly to check on Dawn. She was still sitting on the ground quietly and holding Piplup, she was watching the match calmly however Ash noticed the hard look in her eyes that revealed her anger at the situation.

Ash turned back to the other two trainers who were just coming out of their huddle only to have the breeze pick up slightly and catch his hat from behind to lift it off from his head. He caught it quickly but the damage was done, he could see the recognition in their eyes.

He cursed quietly to himself as one of the trainers pointed at him, “I know you – you’re Ash Ketchum, The Four Region Champion!”

“Three,” Ash said and placed his hat back firmly on his head.

“Huh?”

“It’s three regions, not four.” Ash finally raised his head to properly take a look at his opponents; they seemed to have forgotten about the match entirely and were now gazing at him with wonder.

The Trainer with the Furret slowly counted on his fingers, “It’s definitely four – I remember-Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh-“

“Considering it’s my title, I think I know what the number it is,” Ash interrupted firmly, “I’ve never won in Kanto. Ever.”

The Trainer stood dumbly for a minute before waving off his claim with a laugh, “that’s just a technicality, there is no Champion of Kanto and Lance is the highest ranked trainer there–you have already beaten him!”

Ash wondered what The Dragon Master in question would do if he found out these guys were talking about his defeat so casually, and using his first name like they were buddies.

Ash smirked to himself amused, Lance didn’t have ‘buddies.’

 

“I’ve been a fan of yours since you took on Steven Stone at the Ever Grande Conference, that battle was-”

“Thank you, however right now we should be more concerned with this battle,” Ash interrupted quickly lest this became a small tale waxing lyrical about his battle prowess and directed his eyes down to the two Pokémon who were still waiting patiently.

“Oh right, well of course we forf-ah!”

Ash raised up his hands quickly as out of nowhere, the dust from the road rose up and swirled around their campsite, “Pikachu?!” He yelled out to his Pokémon and was relieved to feel the familiar weight on his shoulder not soon after. Keeping one hand up to shield his eyes and one on his head to keep his hat on, he steadied himself against the onslaught. Ash could feel small twigs hit and poke at him and he was pretty sure he tasted leaves at one point through the abrupt wind outbreak.

The small outburst left as soon as it arrived and within a few seconds Ash found himself blinking and rubbing his eyes to be able to see properly. He quickly turned around to look for Brock and Dawn, Dawn had clutched Piplup tightly to her and remained on the ground, and she was slowly uncovering herself as the squall stopped.

Brock was still standing and was trying to rid himself of the dust in his eyes; his Forrestress had taken refuge at Brock’s feet so as not to get blown away. Satisfied that his friends and Pokémon were in no immediate danger, Ash turned back to the two trainers and stopped instantly.

There standing on a few feet away from him was a Dragonite and not just any Dragonite by the looks of it. As though feeling his stare, the Dragonite turned around and pinned on him a stern look; Ash inadvertently took a step back feeling the weight of such a gaze.

“Chu…” Pikachu let out a few warning sparks and was getting ready to attack at his command.

“It’s alright buddy,” Ash raised a comforting hand to the Pokémon on his shoulder, but he knew that Pikachu recognized the Dragonite as he did – it was Lance’s, or more aptly - the Pokémon he had the hardest time beating during the Johto Conference.

This Dragonite did not like losing and had more than adequately displayed that time and time again during his final battle with Lance all those years ago. It had been his Charizard against Lance’s Dragonite and never had there been two more stubborn Pokémon, the amount of times people in the crowd had stood up in their seats to see which Pokémon had fallen to the other had been numerous.

Dozens of times Ash had believed it to be over, seeing his Charizard stand time and time again had astounded him, after being hit with not only very strong Hyper Beams and Body Slams but Lance had also of course taught his Dragonite one of the strongest moves he had ever seen – Draco Meteor.

After that move Ash had expected to have seen his Charizard in a coma for months on end, however slowly out of the dust, had had seen his Charizard standing –albeit slightly shakily. Ash had relished the look on Lance and his Dragonite's face then, it had been one of complete and utter astonishment and the respect that had followed was something he cherished far more than his title.

Although, while he still had the respect, this Dragonite still didn’t like him and had always made it very clear much to his and Lance’s amusement.

Not wanting to break eye-contact with the slightly temperamental Dragonite, Ash noticed from his peripheral vision the two trainers he had been battling before; they looked like they had had the wind knocked out of them and were looking very dazed. The poor Furret had fainted, no doubt on its last legs and unable to handle a Dragonite using it’s supersonic speed.

“Is that…?” Brock asked bewildered as he made his way over to Ash who nodded his affirmation.

“Yeah, that’s Lance’s Dragonite.”

“What’s it doing all the way out here? Dawn asked from Ash’s other side.

With an impatient snort and with movements so quick they could barely be followed by the group, Ash suddenly found himself looking directly at a deep purple envelope.

Blinking away his confusion, Ash looked over the presented envelope to stare at Dragonite, the Pokémon wasn’t looking at him, and in fact the Pokémon looked less than thrilled to be giving him the letter. The look on Dragonite’s face was extremely disgruntled, Ash wondered if it was because what was in the letter, or if because it was just him in general.

Not wanting to rile the Pokémon any further, Ash took the proffered letter and turned it over to have a look at it. There was nothing really outstanding about it other than the fact it was a deep purple and it had a seal that Ash immediately recognized.

He flung his head up and found, to his surprise, Dragonite staring straight at him. This time, the annoyance was replaced by a serious look. The Pokémon looked at him and then looked down at the letter in his hands, she repeated this action a few times until Ash realized what it was the Pokémon was trying to convey.

The letter was extremely important and he needed to read it, hastily Ash flicked his thumb under the envelope flap to break the seal, he pulled out the thick off-white card and read its contents.

“Ash?” Brock asked slightly alarmed, he watched the colour drain from his friends face as he read the note he had been given.

Robotically, Ash passed the letter to Brock who quickly swiped it out of his hands to read it. He held it so Dawn could read over his shoulder. His eyes flew rapidly over the cursive as he took in all the note had to say.

“What’s a Summit?” Dawn finally asked into the silence, she looked up at Brock who was looking at Ash; she turned her attention to Ash who was looking rather pensive.

Not sensing a forthcoming response from Ash, Dawn turned back to Brock “hello?” She waved a hand in front of his face, “seriously, what’s a Summit?”

“It’s...” Brock seemed to falter with his words which made Dawn bit her lip; it was always worrying when Brock wasn’t able to explain something.

“It’s a meeting for those of high rank who deal with anything to do with Pokémon,” Dawn turned back to Ash, surprised that he had answered her. “The Elite Four – in this case the Kanto Elite Four host it and Gym leaders, Trainers, Professors, Breeders, – everyone considered to be of high rank are asked to come.”

“So…it’s like a party?” Dawn ventured hopefully, although with the look on their faces she knew her hope was misplaced.

Ash snorted and Brock let out a shaky laugh and picked up where Ash left off, “not exactly – there’s a reason you haven’t heard of a Summit before Dawn, they are extremely rare. In fact-” He passed her the envelope and card which she read out loud, “…summon Master Ketchum and Company to the Indigo Plateau for the 3rd Pokémon Summit…so there have only been two?”

Brock nodded, “yes – only two and that has been counted since the Elite Four’s inception.”

Dawn’s mouth dropped open, “but that’s been-!”

“Centuries,” Brock finished for her and rubbed his eyes tiredly, he turned to look at Ash who was absently scratching Pikachu’s back, “are you going to go?”

“Of course he’s going!” Dawn argued back, “you said it’s for people of high rank – you don’t get much higher than Ash when it comes to Pokémon!”

“It’s a bit more serious than that Dawn,” Brock replied patiently, Dawn crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.

He let out a sigh, “I told you that Summit’s were rare,” Dawn nodded to show she was listening, “there is only one reason why a Summit is held,” Dawn found she didn’t like the Brock’s tone and was dreading the rest of the answer, “it’s held when the Elite Four have no other option, and when they have no other option then whatever is happening is extremely serious, potentially fatal.”

Dawn didn’t quite understand, “if it’s so bad, then why would they want to put other people at risk? Surely they must know that people won’t come if it’s meant to be that bad?”

“It’s not that they want to Dawn,” Brock threw a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“It’s that they have to.” Ash finished quietly, the group stood their silently for a few moments before Ash held out his hand, Dawn reached out and gave the letter back to him. He perused it for a few moments before turned back to Lance’s Dragonite.

She had been waiting there patiently for his answer, the fact she hadn’t immediately left after giving him the letter meant that Lance was depending on an answer, he needed a yes or no before Ash even arrived back onto Kanto soil.

It meant Lance had a plan, one that Ash was part of and if Ash said no then the plan would need to be changed. It also meant that this was far more serious that what immediately appeared.

“Tell your Master that Ash Ketchum has received his summoning and will arrive within two weeks, he is currently unaware of how many he is bringing with him-”

“One,” Brock spoke up, Ash turned back and caught his old friends eye and nodded gently.

Not to be outdone, Dawn piped up as well “Two! He’s bringing two with him.”

Ash nodded at Dawn and turned back to Dragonite, “I will be arriving in two weeks and bringing two guests with me, a highly capable and knowledgeable Pokémon Breeder and a very competent Coordinator.”

Dawn blushed and grinned at Ash’s praise while Brock just rolled his eyes and smiled, they both watched as Ash put the letter back into the envelope and tuck it away into his jacket.

Satisfied with the answer she received, the Dragonite nodded back at Ash and turned her back on him. Ash stepped back as the Dragonite immediately shot up and flew off, within a few seconds – it was like she had never been here.

The whole group was silent for a few moments; thinking about the implications of what had just happened, Ash noticed that the trainers from before had disappeared along with the Furret. Ash didn’t blame them, although he was worried about how much they may have heard.

Summit’s were normally kept very quiet lest panic set in over the general public, however he knew there was one person he would have to inform and he really was not looking forward to it.

Ash turned back to Brock and Dawn his face was grim, but determined.

“So, what’s the quickest way back to Kanto?” 

* * *

 

 

 

End chapter


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

It was a full week before anyone started arriving. It was a welcome relief as most of these were trainers and were more than willing to help with the set-up of the accommodation within the Indigo Plateau.

The Indigo Plateau was essentially a stronghold; it was built upon a high area overlooking Victory Road with Mt Silver looming over it. There were six floors and the same amount below ground, each floor had four wings unoriginally named North, South, East and West.

The entrance level (the first level above ground) held not only the impressive entrance hall but also held a large kitchen and dining area, the five levels above that held all the bedrooms and communal areas and all of which was decked out in what could be considered ridiculous splendor.

Below ground held practice areas, mostly for battle training. There were also more bedrooms, meeting rooms and although there was no proof, many rumored that there were dungeons even further down. None of these had been used in years; none of the Elite Four lived in the Indigo Plateau despite being allowed as a privilege.

The Plateau was made out of a terracotta coloured stone, it was kept meticulously clean all throughout the year with no grime or dirt marring the warm colour. Many people commented on the colour of the building upon first seeing it – expecting it to be the colour it was named for.

The 'Indigo' came from a flower native only to the Kanto region, one of the first members of the Elite Four had a wife and in those days there was not a choice whether or not you could live in the Plateau. As a member of the Elite Four you had to live in the Plateau, members of one's family had not been allowed entrance.

He had not seen his wife again, she had died before he had ever lost to an opponent and he had only found out upon his way back to her. He had been the original Kanto Champion, and as such the rule that had once stood became obsolete. Many of the Elite Four, after this incident, refused to live in the Plateau and there had never been another official Kanto Champion.

As a 'thank you' for disposing of the archaic rule, the former Champion had planted his wife's favorite flower – a purple or 'indigo,' as the flower was officially called, Anemone.

The flower had flourished around the area of the Plateau and thus the name 'Indigo Plateau' became recognized. A plaque had been laid upon the first Champion's death – a small token for all that he had sacrificed. It was displayed a few meters outside the front gate as a memorial.

Agatha stood outside this memorial and watched as more trainers walked up past the gate, many had made the trek from a side entrance that was usually closed to them and only open to the general public and spectators that came for any competition and the Indigo Conference.

Many who knew about this trek had complained that it was never open for those that had already been through Victory Road. Many trainers that had already challenged the Kanto league wanted a free pass every time a Conference came around – they argued that they had not only already beaten the Gym Leaders but Victory Road as well, apparently proved once – it meant that it was proved forever.

It was a rule that had never been changed and Agatha hoped it would stay that way. Victory Road separated trainers; it separated those that thought they deserved a chance from those that wanted the chance.

The fatality rate in Victory Road had lowered over the years, there were the occasional murmurs and many condemned the long trek claiming that it was too long, hard and dangerous- especially for the younger trainers. However, the Elite Four, the Gym Leaders and some trainers had fought to keep it and thus it had stayed.

With what was happening in Victory Road at the present, Agatha wondered if it would be the last straw should any bleeding heart parent or lazy trainer find out.

She watched two trainers fly in on a large Fearow and handed their summons over to the guard at the gate. Many of the trainers coming in she recognized, the trainers were those that had made it to the finals and then went on to battle the Elite Four. There were a few notable exceptions, those trainers that had shown courage and mettle in extreme circumstances, or who had impressed any member of the Elite Four at any point in time for any reason.

The Pokémon Professors would be arriving shortly – it was why Agatha was waiting out by the gates. It would take a little while for the Gym Leaders to arrive as they had to shut down their gyms and make arrangements for any Pokémon they had to be taken care of properly in their absence.

Gym Leaders and members of the other regions Elite Four would be arriving probably toward the end of the third and fourth week as they had further to travel.

Agatha felt her lip curl; she hated the idea of other members of the Elite coming into what was essentially her home. She may not have ever lived in the Indigo Plateau, however she spent so much of her time there she thought of it as her second home. Kanto was her region and whenever other members of the Elite invaded her territory she became extremely protective.

Many of the other regions were considered 'tougher,' with its Gym Leaders and Elite Four harder to defeat, Agatha didn't really mind when it came to Johto – they had started up their conference not soon after Kanto and had copied the basic format and according to history books she had read voraciously as a young girl, the original members of the Johto Elite had fully admitted this upon their commencement and had also thanked the Kanto region for their support.

Hoenn and Sinnoh both claimed to be among the first when it came to conferences and any type of competition, apparently having legendary Pokémon that embodied space and time gave Sinnoh the 'edge.' Agatha snorted to herself; she doubted that anyone in Sinnoh had ever seen such Pokémon.

"Agatha!" The old woman started and then frowned, other than the Elite Four who were all Masters in their own right; there was one other person who would only call her by her given name.

"Oak," Agatha turned around, she knew her face and tone were displeased, but deep down she had never been happier to her old friend in all her life.

He was at the front of the pack, no doubt leading the way and was waving out to her brightly. Next to him was Professor Rowan looking as he always did – stern, tall and proud. Behind the two leaders came Birch and Ivy – the former looking like he had just sprint a marathon but was still talking a mile a minute to the uninterested looking female beside him.

She narrowed her eyes to try to see clearer as the group made their way closer to her, who she did see made her scowl.

"Agatha, good to see you – you're looking well." Oak smiled brightly as he stopped right in front of her and she glared at him. The buffoon was acting like they were all there for a social visit – a trekking expedition rather than one of the most important events possibly of their age.

Agatha didn't bother to respond, she nodded sagely to each of the other professors who were all so much more proper in their greetings to her, she then cut to the chase. "What are they doing here?" She asked bluntly staring at Gary Oak and Tracey Sketchit – both of whom were surprised by her directness.

Agatha had been the one to invite the Professors, she knew each of the individually and having spent a lot of time with Professor Oak – possibly the most well known of all them – she had been responsible for making sure they were all kept in the loop regarding current events. Her summons did not include inviting researchers, junior ones at that.

To her irritation, Oak let out a laugh " well-"

"The summons are for those regarded as Professors, not researchers who are only known because of their familial association with you." Agatha cut him off and noticed Oak's grandson scowl at her non—subtle mention of nepotism.

There was an awkward tension in the air, Oak coughed lightly and Agatha remained firm while waiting for an answer. "Master Agatha, regardless of whether or not Researcher Oak happens to be a member of Professor Oak's family, you cannot deny him entry – he has been invited."

Professors Ivy's drone cut through the tension and Agatha raised an eyebrow, "invited?" She parroted before snorting, "one does not get 'invited' to a Summit, they are summoned. It is not a privilege to be here in this instance; this is not play-time for children."

She saw Oak's Grandson cheeks turn a light shade of pink and he opened his mouth to say some back at her- no doubt an argument in his defense, but the other researcher stopped him with a hand out.

Agatha turned back to look at Oak who was looking exasperated by her and she held in a smile, while she didn't care very much in general for the group before her – she and Oak had a history and she was disappointed by the path he took, Rowan she respected, Birch she found amusing and exasperating and Ivy she just found irritating. 

"Master Agatha, we understand that this is not a social event and we have explained this to the two here," Professor Rowan spoke in his booming and serious tone, "what Professor Ivy has said is true – they have been invited."

Agatha narrowed her eyes again, "by whom?" She asked imperiously and a little surprised. It definitely would not have been Lance, his summons were few and as far as she knew, while Oak's grandson had done marginally well in the Kanto and Johto tournaments, he hadn't showed much in the way of dynamic battling for Lorelei and Bruno to have taken any notice, and his research was currently nothing ground-breaking. Although, she gave him credit for tackling a hard subject, Legendary Pokémon were not to be taken lightly.

As for the other researcher, she was quite sure she had never seen him battle in her life. Normally if someone had impressed any one member of the Elite Four they would have mentioned it in their monthly meetings somewhere along the way. Agatha was good with names and faces – he was someone she did not remember.

There was shuffling sound as Oak's grandson rummaged around briefly in his backpack and eventually withdrew a crinkled envelope; he gently shouldered his way to the front where his grandfather clasped a hand on his shoulder , Oak the Younger held out the letter to her.

Agatha stared at the envelope; it was basic, white and with postage on it from what looked like Sinnoh. It wasn't a summoning from them, so Agatha immediately ruled out the rest of the Kanto Elite Four, it was possible that one of the Elite Four from Sinnoh had summoned them, yet the letter looked far to plain for it to be so.

The young man was staring at her, almost daring her not to take the letter. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and took it from his hand, she was curious as to who would invite these two to such an event. She could feel all eyes on her as she read the letter and she tried to not let her surprise show.

The letter had been written by the Champion of Sinnoh, Hoenn and Johto – Master Ash Ketchum. Agatha knew that he was under Lance's summoning and as far as she knew the Champion hadn't answered yet. It was assumed he would not be showing up as most of the replies had come in within the first four days after they had been sent out.

Agatha suddenly raised her eyes to look at the two young researchers; one Ash had travelled with in his youth – during the Orange Islands if her memory didn't escape her, Ash's first taste of victory also for a Conference - no matter how small it was. The other, Oak's grandson, had been Ash's friend since childhood.

As a Champion, Ash was well within his rights to summon – or in this case 'invite' whomever he deemed worthy to join in the Summit. However, he was also meant to inform whoever summoned him that it was his intention to do so. Agatha knew that Lance had been the one to summon Ash – the two were in regular contact and had become good friends since Ash had defeated him during the Silver Conference.

What worried Agatha was that Lance had not informed her – nor as far as she knew – anyone else about Ash's imminent arrival or who else he may have invited. Ash knew a lot of people and had been to a lot of different places, who he may have invited could have a very negative outcome for the Summit. There were those that were never invited due to their turbulent natures and any potentially dangerous ideas, Giovanni – the old leader of the Viridian City Gym was one such example despite his strength as an old Gym Leader.

While Agatha didn't believe that Ash would intentionally invite someone like the aforementioned, it was disquieting to find that Lance had hidden something like this from everyone.

It meant that Lance and Ash had a plan, one she was not privy to at the present. Lance and Ash were two of the most powerful trainers throughout most of the Pokémon regions. For the longest time Agatha had wondered whether or not Lance would ever be defeated – Cynthia had done it once, but even she admitted it had been luck at the time – plus immense stupidity on Lance's part.

Agatha had a special place in her heart for Lance; he had become the Champion at such a young age and had also come from such an influential background. She had taken him under her wing once he had become Champion and slowly had hammered out his arrogance and impulsive behavior. He was a natural with Pokémon and always seeking the best for them, even at the cost of himself.

Lance had found a kindred spirit with Ash and although she would never say it aloud, Agatha was glad Lance had lost to Ash, it was what he needed.

Ash did not have the obsessive nature that Lance had, Ash was just stubborn and that was what propelled him forward, that and his belief in his Pokémon. Agatha respected Ash immensely, his love for all Pokémon, not just his own, was vast and it showed not only in his eclectic and exciting battle-style, but also in how Pokémon responded to him.

Ash had not yet been defeated since he had won at the Silver Conference all those years ago, and he had fast become legend. Upon his third victory in one of the major Conferences, Agatha remembered it well - It had been a magnificent battle with Ash's Snorlax knocking out Steven's Armaldo to secure the win at the Evergrande Conference; Ash had retreated from the public face, refusing to become the titular Champion of any of the regions that had offered the post to him.

When Ash had refused the post of Johto Champion Agatha had understood, he had wanted to test his mettle against the other regions and to do that – he couldn't be confined to the responsibility the Champion had, Lance found it hard enough – it had been out of necessity due to Lance's continuous wanderings, that the video chat and screens had been put into the meeting rooms so that he could join in and be involved when needed. Lance had always made the effort to compromise, whenever a meeting was to be held he would always be in contact for that time and had never missed one meeting regardless of where he was.

After his second and third major conference victories, Agatha had been surprised to find that Ash still refused the post of Champion for any of the regions. Many voiced their displeasure, but Ash had not ever given a specific reason. He had retreated and gone into hiding, many had gone on their own journey's to find and challenge him, there had been many rumors of where he was, whispers of a trainer battling here and there. Nothing had ever been confirmed.

Ash was now in his early twenties and still he hadn't challenged Kanto again, Agatha suspected that Lance knew the reason why but she didn't bother asking –as much as she would like the privilege of battling Ash, there had to be a reason why he wouldn't want to be recognized as the unofficial 'Champion' of his own region. Agatha was pretty sure that Ash would win, or at least come close should he ever decide to enter and make it an even four.

Breaking away from the troubling letter, Agatha thrust the paper back at the young man in front of her, maybe the reason Lance hadn't told her that Ash was arriving was because the young Champion had wanted to keep it a secret to avoid something or someone in particular, or she supposed with Ash's popularity, avoiding anyone that was too eager to draw him into a fruitless battle.

While she could hope, Agatha knew that this probably wasn't the case – the two were planning something and Lance didn't want her to find out, probably until it the idea was announced during the Summit.

Cursing Lance for making her look like an idiot, Agatha nodded stiffly back at the Professors and then commanded them to follow her.

* * *

"Could these stairs be any steeper?" Dawn asked and then let out a loud sigh as she trudged up one more step.

Brock was behind her and had been quietly amused ever since they had reached the 115th step; it was where Dawn had decided to stop counting when she still couldn't see the top of the staircase.

Ash stopped briefly at her outburst and turned back around, he was in front of her and up by a few steps. He was leading the way, seeming to know this place like the back of his hand and he didn't look tired at all. Pikachu dropped down from his master's shoulder and gently darted his way over to her. The electric Pokémon gave her a cute smile and a few "Pika's!" of encouragement before darting back up the stairs and out of site.

"If only we could all be so agile," Dawn muttered drily as she made her way up the steps, she stopped just behind Ash who was smiling at her cynicism and he handed her his drink bottle. She thanked him and took the bottle out of his hands; she took a large gulp and offered the bottle to Brock who shook his head.

Ash was leaning against the rock face on one side of the stairs looking out over Victory Road and Brock was sitting on top of a large rock that was imbedded in the steep climb they were currently tackling. The stairs, while not the easiest to climb, were the quickest way to get to the Indigo Plateau from the Johto Region. The other stairs, the easier ones that Dawn assumed everyone else would be climbing, were on the other side of the Indigo Plateau accessible from Viridian City.

Because they had come from the other direction and they were running out of time to make it to the Summit, the group had made the decision to tackle the difficult and crudely nature-made steps on the other side of Mt Silver. It would have taken them another week to make it round to the other side and because Victory Road had been closed, they couldn't cut through the center either. By that time the doors to the Indigo Plateau would be closed and they would not be allowed to enter for the Summit.

Dawn plopped herself down on the stairs and wiggled around, trying to get comfortable on the wonky steps, "Seriously, guys – how far away is it now? We must have climbed like…a thousand steps!"

Brock and Ash laughed and she smiled, she knew she was exaggerating but they hadn't rested once since Ash had received his summons. They had stopped briefly for lunch in Canalave City so that Ash could send out a letter, but from there they caught the quickest ferry they could – it had taken them directly to Olivine where they had then travelled non-stop through Johto keeping a brisk pace.

It had been Dawn's first time in Johto and both the boys had apologized for not being able to show her the sights, she had wished she could have taken more photos but once they had arrived in Olivine after their week-long, journey aboard the Ferry from Canalave they had immediately set off for Blackthorn City. While it had been a week-long aboard the Ferry, they hadn't really rested it had been a rocky journey and all of them had trouble sleeping with the weather being as bad as it was. Twice they had been woken up in the middle of the night for life-jacket calls, all of which had ended in false alarms.

Ash had received a letter just about week after it had been sent – it had taken them the rest of that week to get to Canalave City. From there, the third week of their journey had been taken up by their Ferry ride; they were now well into the fourth and final week of their time limit and they were all feeling it. Getting to Blackthorn had been grueling, while they had been able to go around Mt Mortar rather than through it, finally getting to Mahogany town and then finding there was no choice but to go through Ice Path to get to Blackthorn, Dawn had almost cried.

"Not too far now Dawn," Brock said cheerfully, "about, what – another 1000 steps Ash?" Dawn chucked the drink bottle at Brock in retaliation and Ash chuckled to himself at their banter.

Ash pointed a bit further up, "see those flowers Dawn?"

She let out a suffering sigh and turned her body around to look up to where Ash was pointing, she squinted her eyes a little, but eventually she saw what he was looking at – a small cluster of purple flowers, they were the only vegetation she could see – apart from the random scattering of trees, so they stuck out like a sore thumb now that she knew they were there.

"Yeah, the purple ones?"

Ash nodded and smiled, "It's the 100 step mark. The flower is the Indigo Anemone, it grows really well near the Indigo Plateau and when you see this flower it means that you're close. It's traditionally called the '100 steps mark – but I think there are a few more than-"

Ash broke off when Dawn let out a whoop of excitement, she quickly picked up her pack and starting marching up the stairs, "we're almost there! C'mon guys!"

Ash and Brock shared an amused laugh at Dawn's renewed enthusiasm; it carried her right up past the purple flower where Pikachu had been rolling around in the grass waiting for them.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Dawn commanded as she marched right up past him, the mouse Pokémon let out a "Pika!" and raced up past her heels to beat her to the top.

"Dawn! Wait up!" Brock couldn't help let out a laugh as she continued pressing on – many times she slipped going up but it didn't deter her much. Her motivation to get to the top and perhaps finally get a sleep-in was strong.

Ash watched as Brock caught up to Dawn and matched her pace, sometimes catching her when she slipped and keeping an eye on her. He kept a slower pace and took his time, they were going to make it – their hard push at the beginning had made it so and Ash figured he could take his time with the home stretch.

Part of him savored the journey, he hadn't been to Kanto in a while and he didn't realize how much he missed it. He would come and visit his mother sure, but the furthest he would ever travel would be from Pallet to Pewter mostly to pick up Brock if his friend was so inclined to join him (and he usually was) and then the two would fly to Vermillion to catch a ferry to start their next adventure.

They would have flown to the Indigo Plateau if they could, but none of them had a Pokémon that could transport them that way and when they had got to Canalave City Professor Oak had not been in the lab and he had left for the Indigo Plateau during their ferry ride as they had found when they had tried to contact him in Olivine. Charizard was back Charicific Valley and wouldn't have been able to make it time, so Ash hadn't tried to contact his old friend.

"Wow!" Ash broke away from his thoughts and looked up to see Dawn standing at the top of the stairs smiling brightly. She turned around and smiled at him "c'mon you Slowpoke! I can hear a mattress calling my name!"

Ash grinned and trudged up the last few steps, Pikachu bounded onto his shoulder and nuzzled at the hair that poked out of his cap. He reached out a hand to gently scratch his Pokémon's back as he made it to the top.

"It's so pretty!" Dawn exclaimed as she stared out at the view before her, in front of them lay a thin dirt path and surrounding that was a lush green field that was filled with the purple flower. Looming in the distance was the Indigo Plateau, the large gates open for all those to enter.

"Pikachu, could you let Lance know we have arrived?" Ash murmured quietly to his Pokémon as they set off single file down the path, Dawn leading the way and craning her head this way and that to take everything in. Pikachu quickly darted off into the grass at his master's command; Ash watched his yellow back scurry through the long grass and head towards the gate.

The place hadn't change a bit since Ash had been here over a decade ago, he remembered the first time he had seen this place and it had been like an oasis – especially after coming out of Victory Road. Ash turned his head slightly, behind them was Victory Road and the entrance to it had been closed off, covered by large slabs of stone.

The summons he had received from Lance had told him not to venture through there as it had been closed off. It wasn't strange that the path was closed – because of the danger; the path was normally only open when the Indigo Conference came around, or opened for special cases such as when trainers like him wanted to train in there for a time.

What made Ash suspicious was that it was Pokémon Summit they were all convening for, in such extreme circumstances normally every avenue for access would be open, regardless of the potential danger and besides – most trainers that would be arriving would have been able to handle, or should have been able to handle Victory Road in their sleep.

Keeping his thoughts to himself for the moment, Ash turned his head back to Brock who had spoken his name; Brock pointed and Ash followed it towards the gates and he saw flaming red hair clashing with yellow. He grinned and picked up his pace to get in front of Dawn.

Lance was smiling outside the gates and petting Pikachu gently, when Ash stopped moving Pikachu removed himself from the Dragon Master's shoulder and made his way to Ash's. "Long time no see," Lance spoke, Ash noted that his friend looked tired and nodded; Lance held out his hand and let out a sigh, "thank you for coming."

There was a resonance in Lance's voice that made Ash pause for a second before he accepted the handshake .He felt the note through his thinly gloved hand and squeezed Lance's hand to let him know the message had been received. He had known it was serious before he had arrived, however he hadn't expected Lance to have an almost overwhelmed look about him.

"Any chance for a bed?" Dawn interrupted, "we've been travelling for like, ever! We need our beauty rest, especially these two." She jerked her thumb to Brock and Ash and Lance laughed a bit before withdrawing his hand from Ash who quickly drew his hand into a fist to crush the note he had received.

"Of course, this way" Lance motioned with hands and led the exhausted group through the gates. Dawn was chattering a mile a minute to Lance, asking what he had been doing since the last time they had met. Ash grinned, Lance was not the type for small talk and it was amusing to watch him struggle with Dawn's exuberance and endless questions.

"I saw it you know," Ash felt his grin slip and he looked at Brock.

"The note," Brock didn't elaborate any further and he didn't need to. Ash had let Brock in on all that he knew from Lance, it wasn't something he was about to keep secret from Brock, especially when Brock had such an analytical mind, the two had stayed well up into the night on their journey here discussing possible ideas and theories.

The two were not sure how much Brock was allowed to know at this point, thus Brock had informed him that in seeing the note it wasn't that he needed to know what was in it, just that he knew of its existence and he would understand if Ash needed to keep it a secret from him.

"Although, it's quite strange – have you noticed?" Brock gestured behind him, his tone was worried and it made Ash stop and turn around.

Ash looked out past the gates to the green and purple field and it was only then that he noticed. On a bright sunny day, in a beautiful, blossoming field and with nothing to mar such an idyllic looking area, something was wrong. Ash clenched his fist tighter – the one that held the note and he felt dread rise up like a lump in his throat.

In a place where you would expect wild Butterfree and Beedrill to roam free, where Pidgey would fly free through the clouds and Oddish would rest calmly in the grass, there was nothing out of ordinary and yet there were no Pokémon.

* * *

**End chapter.**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this should be the last of the "set-up" chapters, of course there is still more to the mystery and of course the Summit has to take place (dreading that chapter to be honest.)
> 
> Next chapter should be the first glimpse inside the Indigo Plateau plus, we finally have everyone in one place – plus we meet some old friends.
> 
> And just in case anyone is interested in this sort of thing – I have a photobucket account that will host pictures that relate to this story, such as the flower you just read about and my idea (sort of) regarding the Indigo Plateau. It's under the same user name Redenzione and it's all public, so go ahead and have a look if you like.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this and please let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash arrives at the Indigo Plateau, has a chat with Lance and see's old friends.

Walking into the Indigo Plateau was a strange experience, Ash hadn’t been there since his defeat over ten years ago and he couldn’t help the smile that came over him, although arguably not a ‘happy’ memory, it was part of his beginnings as a trainer and his journey since then had been amazing.

  
There were many people walking around, some stopped briefly and pointed to them or Ash in particular. Ash didn’t bother to pull his hat down further to cover his face, sooner or later everyone would know he was here. Their group stopped in the middle of the entrance hall and Ash looked up to see many people leaning on the railings.

  
“This place is gorgeous!” Dawn exclaimed as she looked around, the walls were a bright white with a gold trim around the top. The floors were hardwood and shiny – polished till they looked new. The grand staircase had a deep purple carpet up the middle and the wooden hand rail was the same deep brown as the floor.

  
Pokémon paraphernalia and artifacts lined the walls in glass cases and painted portraits of previous and current Kanto Elite Four members hung on the walls framed in opulent gold, Ash gestured to one “Where’s yours?” He asked Lance and grinned when he got nothing but a sneer in return.

  
“Same place yours is,” Lance shot back, “Your bedrooms will be on the fifth floor, Ash – you and Brock will be sharing if you don’t mind?”

  
“It’s alright Lance, I still have my ear plugs!”Brock interjected smoothly and Lance laughed along with him as Ash scoffed and pushed Brock gently so that he stumbled slightly sideways.  
“Dawn, you currently have a room to yourself and it’s also on the fifth floor – however, you may have to share eventually.”

  
Dawn nodded with an easy smile, “no problem! I’m just happy to have a mattress, let alone sheets and a pillow! I need to see this – I don’t think I even remember what they look like!” She said this all very fast and then hurried off to the stairs and Lance shouted out to her, “you’re in the North Wing! Room 505!”

  
Dawn waved back down to them as she rounded the corner and continued running up the stairs and out of sight. Lance just stared in amazement, “is she always like that?”

  
Brock and Ash nodded, “It’s been a hard journey, we were the last on the Ferry and we had to beg and plead to get on. In fact – if Ash hadn’t been, well, Ash! Then we probably wouldn’t have been able to get on. We had a room to ourselves but it was just four walls and a door, when she said she hasn’t had a mattress in a while – she’s not exaggerating!” Brock elaborated on their journey slightly to explain Dawn’s eager behavior to see creature comforts.

  
Lance nodded, “Thank you, I appreciate how far you all had to come and what you sacrificed to be able to get here on time. Although, Dawn could have waited to let me explain that we have elevators.” He gestured to the lifts at the left side of the stairwell and Ash and Brock chuckled, “we’ll let her know.” Brock said.

  
“Brock!” The three guys looked up and saw Forrest, Brocks younger brother and Pewter City’s Gym Leader leaning over the second floor railing waving hard and smiling brightly. Brock’s smiled just as widely and waved back, he turned to Lance who just waved off his apologies, “go! He’s been waiting for you.”

  
Brock nodded and took the stairs two at a time, his brother met him half-way and they shared a massive hug of hello. They were both around the same height now, but Forrest was wider in the shoulders, no doubt from all his time training with his rock Pokémon.

  
Ash watched the two brothers for a moment and felt a slight twinge of guilt for keeping them apart. He knew that Brock wanted to go with him – he wouldn’t have travelled with Ash if he didn’t want to, but Ash knew that Brock still missed his family, the two had talked about it last time they had left Pewter City, when Ash had picked him up to head to Sinnoh again.  
Brock had reassured him that he wanted to go, he had never wanted to be a Gym Leader, battling was fun for him but unlike Lance and Ash, he was more interested in taking care of Pokémon. Brock had argued to Ash that he had time to settle down and stay in one place to study and set up a practice, but for now he was enjoying learning about and seeing different types of Pokémon and ways to care for them, Brock had said he was gaining valuable information while travelling with Ash and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  
Ash had let the subject go then, he knew Brock had had a hard time the last time he had left Ash – Ash had travelled through the Orange Islands and Brock had decided to stay and work under Professor Ivy. It hadn’t ended well and for some time Ash had suspected it was the reason why Brock still didn’t want to settle down anywhere, he no longer became emotional at the mention of her name, but whatever had happened obviously hurt him deeply.

  
Ash still didn’t know the whole story and he stopped asking, it wasn’t his business to know and if and when Brock wanted to tell him, he would do so.

  
“Ash!” He turned at the sound of his name and grinned, barreling toward him was Tracey Sketchit. Ash braced himself for a hug and even staggered back two steps at the force of it, almost knocking into Lance. Pikachu had taken refuge on Lance’s shoulder for the moment and Tracey quickly withdrew himself, “been a long time Ash, how’re you going? Pikachu!”  
Ash fixed up his hat while Pikachu and Tracey caught up, Pikachu gently shocked Tracey’s fingertips in greeting, “Pika-chu!”  
“I’m doing good, just got in actually-”

  
“Always last, looks like something’s will never change.” interrupted a familiar drawling voice. Ash let out a low laugh and looked over Tracey’s shoulder, Gary Oak stood behind Tracey with his arms crossed and a cheeky grin on his face.

  
“Better late than never Oak, glad to see you both got my letter – sorry about the short notice.”  
Gary opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Tracey, “Not a problem Ash! Happy to help, so I hear you’ve been in Sinnoh recently – got any pictures to show me? What’s the environment like? I hear that Sinnoh has hardly any water routes? ”

 

  
Ash held in a smile while trying to answer Tracey’s questions while Gary rolled his eyes amicably. 

“Gary, there you are – Professor Birch and I were just-oh!”

  
Ash stopped briefly while explaining to Tracey that Brock had all the photos and would be more than happy to show him later on, as Professor Oak came up behind his grandson with Professor Birch in tow.

  
There was a tense silence for a few moments, “Hello Ash, good to see you, you’re looking well.” Professor Oak spoke politely to him, a strained smiled crossed his features that everyone noticed.

  
Ash nodded, “thanks.” He spoke shortly and there was no smile on his face, he turned back to Tracey and kept talking like he couldn’t see the bewildered looks from Tracey, Professor Birch and Gary.

  
Professor Oak took this in stride, and clapped his hands trying to rid the area of the tension that had arisen. “Gary, Professor Birch and I – with Lance’s permission,” He gestured politely to the man in question who nodded and stood away from the group while waiting patiently for Ash to finish with his greetings.

  
“We were planning on going out and having a look around the Plateau, I haven’t been here in a while and Professor Birch has never been here at all – would you like to join us?”

  
Gary was still looking suspiciously between Ash and his Grandfather, “uh yeah, sure.” He answered clumsily making Professor Oak clap his hands again, “wonderful, wonderful – go and get your boots on Gary – we’ll meet you outside the gates in five minutes.”

  
Ash diligently ignored Gary’s focused look on him, but knew that eventually Gary would catch up to him and question him regarding that exchange. Eventually, Gary left the party and darted up the stairs, “Oh – wait, I wanted to ask Professor Birch something!” Tracey suddenly explained to no one in particular, he turned around to shout at Gary “I’m coming too Gary! Sorry Ash, we will catch up later?” Tracey ran backwards on his way to the stairs to see if Ash had heard him and Ash gave a wave of acknowledgement that he had.

  
He watched the two researchers disappear up the stairs and breathed in a deep sigh as finally, he could relax and not deal with a thousand questions he was really in no mood to answer. Pikachu had long fallen asleep while on Lance’s shoulder and Ash figured he was close to doing the same. He turned to see Lance smiling knowingly at him, “I think I better show you your room before we meet anyone else.”

  
Ash nodded tiredly, “I’d appreciate that.” Lance led him over to the elevators that would take them up to the fifth floor, once they were in Lance leaned back against the elevator wall, “Still not talking to the Professor, huh?”

  
Ash knew that Professor Oak would be at the Summit, he was one of the highest ranked Pokémon Professors throughout any of the four regions, Ash would have been surprised if he wasn’t here. However, it didn’t mean that after what the Professor had pulled that Ash had to be polite to him for the sake of what company they were in.

  
They may have been brought together for a common good, and Ash would respect the Professors opinion and ideas as he always had, however Ash was not going to pretend to be happy with Professor Oak.

  
“Until he gives me a reason as to why he won’t enter me into the Indigo League again, then I have nothing to say to him.”

* * *

 

Ash hadn’t woke until the next morning, the gong for breakfast had just sounded and he was comfortably curled up within his many blankets and Pikachu was curled up at his feet.  
Ash turned over to see Brock sitting up on the side of his bed still slightly bleary eyed, “morning Brock,” Ash said sleepily and slowly pulled himself up to rest against the headboard.

  
Ash could barely hear Brock’s returned “morning” through his yawn, but he heard the knock on the door and Dawn’s cheery voice on the other side “Morning sleepy-heads! Breakfast time!”  
They both reply with a groaning sound and staggered their way out of their beds to get washed and changed for breakfast.

  
Dawn was talking a mile a minute on their way down the stairs to the breakfast room, filling them in on everything she had learnt since she had arrived here. They had found she had already been up for two hours and had had a chat with Cynthia, who had arrived a few days before and was staying on the floor above them. “She said she’s looking forward to seeing you again Brock.” Dawn wiggled her eyebrows teasingly while Brock blushed lightly and reached out to muss her hair gently.

  
They made it down to the entrance hall and followed the growing crowd to the dining area, Ash could feel his stomach rumble, he hadn’t eaten dinner as he had been too tired and had fallen asleep the minute his head had hit the pillow, he hadn’t even heard Brock come in later the evening before.

  
“Whoa, nice set-up,” Ash said as they walked through the double doors and into the dining area, it was essentially a very elegant cafeteria. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and long wooden tables were set up all through the open space with benches for seats accompanying the tables.

  
There was a second level where round tables and high-backed chairs were situated and Ash could see members of the Elite sitting around the tables with their trays. He could see a few of the Professors up there as well, he knew that intentionally that the place wouldn’t be segregated due to rank and that anyone could sit wherever they wanted, but he supposed the respect that members of the Elite and the Professors carried was something he had never really paid attention to.

  
The kitchen was large and Ash was pleased to find a large buffet style, ‘serve yourself’ display in front of the kitchen, filled hot breakfast foods like eggs, bacon, grilled tomatoes, hash browns and mushrooms. To the side of the hot foods were canisters filled with porridge and large, bulk style containers filled with a range of cereals were adjacent to the hot foods display and Dawn immediately placed herself in that line, picking herself up a tray, bowl and spoon to patiently wait for her turn.

  
Ash quickly placed himself in the growing hot food line and grabbed a tray for himself and Brock who jumped in behind him, “any idea where you get the toast from?” Ash asked Brock while trying not to salivate over the smells wafting through the room. Brock looked around briefly and then pointed over to the cereal area, “there – next to the cereal, you can pick your toast and pop it in the toaster for however you like it. Or I suppose, let your Quilava heat it up for you,” Brock said while everyone watched a Quilava heat up a couple of slices of toast for its trainer.

  
Ash laughed and placed his tray in front of him to grab a plate as he waited his turn for the eggs, he finally got to the end and was serving himself up a few sausages when he felt a hand on his shoulder, it was Lance carrying his own tray and gesturing with it to the stairs, “meet me up there,” Ash nodded and went back to getting his food.

  
Once he had finished, he waited for Brock who waved him away “no, you go – I’m going to introduce Dawn to my brother.” Dawn was already sitting at a table waiting for them and Forrest was a few places behind Brock in the line.

  
“Alright, I’ll talk to you later,” Ash said and gestured vaguely to Dawn who was looking slightly confused at what was happening. Ash kept going to the stairs as he figured Brock would explain it; he climbed to the top and looked around for Lance. The Dragon Master was sitting by himself on a stool – what Ash hadn’t noticed as he walked in to the dining area was that the top floor had a breakfast bar that ran around the edge of the railing so that people could sit on a stool and look down on the dining room.

  
Ash took a seat next to Lance, “nice digs.”

Lance picked up a piece of bacon and smirked before tossing it in his mouth, “I try.”

  
The two sat in silence while they ate, Ash knew that Lance was waiting till he was rested, fed and watered before he got down to it and for that Ash was extremely grateful, especially considering he knew how impatient his friend was.

  
Letting Pikachu finish of the rest of his bacon, Ash turned to Lance “so,” he started in a quiet voice, pretending to people watch down below, “lets lay down the facts, something is wrong – very wrong.” Lance nodded, “not only is there a Summit happening for the first time in over a century, but you actually felt the need to send your Dragonite to me with a summons.”

  
Ash paused and let that sink in, “I may have been in Sinnoh, but a Pidgeot would have got to me without any problems and I would have made the effort to get here regardless of the time-limit, but you knew that.”

  
Ash kept looking down at the dining area, “what don’t I know?” He asked seriously and for a few moments Lance didn’t answer him.

  
“I don’t have the pictures on me right now, Agatha has them in lock-down until the Summit takes place tomorrow, she doesn’t want panic setting in and unfortunately she knows me too well.” Lance started with a disgruntled twist of a smile on his face, “but it’s bad Ash.”

  
Ash nodded to show that he was listening, “Pokémon are showing up being…I think insane is the best way to put it, Agatha likes to say ‘mentally unstable’ but it’s more than that. They aren’t eating, they aren’t sleeping, they are hostile and while none have attacked humans or other Pokémon yet, it’s really only a matter of time, and each one ends up like the last – dead.”  
Ash could feel a chill go down the back of his spine, “anything else?”

  
Lance nodded, “at first we thought it was confined to Victory Road, but we recently found an Arcanine with the same symptoms and Arcanine do not make their home in Victory Road.”  
“That’s why the road was closed,” Ash murmured to himself thoughtfully.

  
“It’s spreading Ash, and we don’t know what’s causing it – there are these runes that they are carving into themselves-”

  
That got Ash’s attention and he looked away from the people below to turn an incredulous look on Lance, “What?!”

  
Lance jerked his head in a nod, “I’ll try and get the images tonight to show you – there are these ancient runes, no-one, not even the Professors have seen them before. The Pokémon are carving these symbols into their bodies with their teeth and claws, or anything sharp they can find.”

  
Ash was now wishing that he didn’t eat as much as he did, he could feel the scrambled egg come up his throat as he imagined what Lance was briefly describing. “Some of them even managed to carve them into their organs before-”

  
“I get it, Lance.” Ash choked out and swallowed the bile back down into his throat. Lance broke off and then hesitated, “there’s more?” Ash asked slightly aghast.

  
“The reason we called everyone here, we-” Lance looked around furtively but found that no-one was paying the two any notice, he turned back and looked at Ash when he spoke “we sent in some of our messengers to have a look to see if they could find anything related to the Pokémon deaths and these strange symbols,” he heaved in a deep breath, “one came back about a month ago – all that was left was a torso and head, no arms, legs and no tongue.”

  
“Only one?” Was all that Ash asked not willing to ask how many they had originally sent in and Lance nodded in the affirmative before pulling away and looking back down at the people below, unknowing of what was being shared only a few meters above them. “The runes were on the body as well, the same as on the Pokémon.” Lance added almost like an afterthought, Ash nodded distractedly trying to process all that he had just been told.

  
“And nothing has worked? Nothing?” Ash asked twice as Lance shook his head and affirmed Ash’s worst fears, “We have tried everything we know, we have asked the Professors from every region if they know of anything similar, and every Doctor and Nurse we have contacted has not been able to do anything either.” Lance spoke in a harsh whisper and clenched his fists tighter over his tray, “nothing has worked and so – here were are.”Lance unclenched his fists and relaxed the rest of his body that had slowly been tensing up throughout his explanation to Ash.

  
Ash took a long look at the Dragon Master, he looked bone-deep tired and there was a haunted look in his eyes, it was something Ash was not used to seeing and it unnerved him slightly. Lance was not one to feel despair or helplessness, even when he had lost to Ash, Lance had been celebratory and it had done nothing but helped forge a strong friendship between the two.

  
“Anything else?” Ash finally asked after he finished his analysis of his friend and Lance shook his head. “No, that’s all the information we have – I swear it,” Lance added the last part when he noticed that Ash was staring at the side of his head.

  
Ash let it go, Lance was in a hard position as he was tethered to the duty of the Elite Four and when things like this happened he was meant to be bound in secrecy until such time as any information was allowed to be released. Normally that would only happen if the Elite Four all agreed on giving out such information, and Lance knew as well as Ash did that Agatha would never agree to such a thing.

  
Lance telling Ash all of this could be grounds for suspension, even termination of his place in the Elite Four and Ash appreciate the risk Lance was taking. However, he was also slightly wary because Lance had sent him his summons with the express intent of needing to know if he was going to show up or not and from what he had just found out, the danger rate was extremely high and Lance knew that Ash had experienced more than his fair share of danger before.

  
“What do you want from me Lance?” Ash asked tiredly, already guessing the answer.

 

  
To his credit, Lance looked apologetic despite also being extremely determined. He opened his mouth but a terse voice from behind him made him falter. 

“Ash Ketchum, it would have been nice to know that you were coming to this Summit.”

  
Ash raised his head; behind a slightly cringing Lance was Agatha, a member of the Kanto Elite Four that had taken a particular interest in him upon his defeat of Lance. She was sending out extremely displeased signals towards Lance and Ash couldn’t help but be amused by the Dragon Masters discomfort at being scolded by the older lady.

  
“Master Agatha, it’s good to see you again.” Ash bowed his head slightly in respect to the oldest member of the Elite, a year older than Bertha - she was a tough old bird and unfortunately Ash had never had the pleasure of battling with her, although he figured it would be one of his more difficult ones.

  
She had sent him a letter of congratulations upon his victory after the Silver Conference and then again upon his wins in the Lily Of The Valley Conference and the Ever Grande Conference, after that the two hadn’t been in regular contact but Ash sometimes received a letter from her wondering about where he was at in his journey and if he knew anything of possible interest to her, to let her know.

  
Ash always replied as best he could, sometimes putting in some interesting things that he had found on his travels and sending them back to her. He noticed that in the entrance hall, a fossil he had sent her with half of a rare Pokémon embedded in it, it was currently displayed in one of the glass cases.

  
Ash stood up from his chair and addressed her politely, “I apologize for not letting you know I would be joining, as I understood-”

  
“Yes, Lance was supposed to tell me. Obviously it slipped his mind – along with whoever else you decided to invite.” She raised an eyebrow at the two and Ash tried his best not to smile at her unsubtle displeasure.

  
“I’m sorry you were not informed and I hope you were not put out too much.” Agatha let out a snort and her lips curled up in a begrudging smile as Ash’s over-the-top apology, “I only sent a letter out to Gary Oak and Tracey Sketchit, plus of course – my two companions who were with me when I received my summons also came with me. I have not invited anyone else.”

  
She nodded and gave him a small smile, “yes, well thank you for coming. I understand your journey must have been a long one. I look forward to hearing more about this ‘Black Tower’ nonsense you mentioned in your last letter,” she turned a glare upon Lance who returned a winning smile to her and she rolled her eyes. “You and I will talk later,” she said sternly to Lance and once she was satisfied with his response she walked off.

  
The two Champions waited until she was down the stairs before they addressed each other again, “I don’t know how she does it, but she just appears somehow! She’s always been the suspicious, sneaky type – much like her Pokémon. Then again one isn’t really supposed to become like their Pokemon.”

  
Ash grinned at Lance’s rather apt description of Agatha, thinking that Lance really had no reason to censure Agatha’s ways when Lance was quite like his own Pokémon, not that the Dragon Master would ever admit it, and then he heard it.

  
“Misty!”

  
He stilled completely at the loud call from down below, slowly he turned back around to look over the balcony, he scanned the room slightly and then saw the red hair near the breakfast buffet. He watched her wave to Crasher Wake and Juan, they gestured for her to sit with them and when she had got her food she made her way over to them.

  
Ash watched Crasher Wake pull her in for a large bear hug and Juan pick her hand up to kiss it lightly, he had a thought in the back of his mind to stop staring at her like he was.

  
He knew it could be seen as quite creepy and weird but he couldn’t look away, having not seen her in years – only hearing frustratingly small, unsatisfying tidbits about her from other people, it was reassuring to see her in the flesh finally. To see with his own eyes that she was alive and looking well, a weight that he didn’t know was on his chest lifted, followed by an overwhelming crushing pang.

  
He turned away, unable to look at her any longer and trying to wipe out the memory and gut-wrenching feeling of waking up and finding her gone.

  
“You knew she would be coming,” Lance spoke quietly; he had noticed Ash go still and silent and had followed his friends gaze to the young woman below.

  
“Knowing and seeing are two different things,” Ash finally managed to get out, albeit shakily. As a Gym Leader of the host region Misty had to attend the summit and Ash had known that, however he had thought seeing her for the first time in such a long time, it would have been just the two of them, not spotting her halfway across a crowded room and watching her laugh and talk with other people.

  
“You should go and say hello.”

  
Ash turned an incredulous frown at Lance who was smiling wickedly and gestured to the red-head, “Hey Misty, long time no see – how have you been since you left me in the middle of the night 7 years ago with no note?” Lance narrated the possible scenario to Ash who resisted the urge to punch his friend in the head.

  
“When was the last time you actually talked to a female – other than Agatha or Clair?” Ash asked snidely, turning the tables on the Dragon Master.

  
Lance scowled at him and Ash, seeing an opening, pounced “why don’t you go and say hello,” Ash pointed a finger below to the brunette waiting in line to get herself some cereal, Ash knew that Lance had noticed her the minute she had walked into the dining area.

  
Lance didn’t follow his fingers direction but Ash knew he had hit the mark; the Dragon Master had gone slightly pink and had turned his head away while muttering something under his breath that Ash couldn’t hear.

  
“Sorry, didn’t quite catch that Lance?” Ash asked cheerily, knowing it would annoy Lance immensely. The Dragon Master bit the inside of his cheek and let out a frustrated sigh, “it’s a bit different for you Ash, at least your girl knows you exist, she’s just ignoring you for whatever reason.”

  
Not taking the bait, Ash re-directed Lance’s line of fire, “you’re the Champion of her region Lance, I seriously doubt the fact Jasmine doesn’t know that you exist.” Ash chortled.

  
Finally, Lance raised his head and watched the object of his unknown affections walk across the dining hall; Ash wondered if the way Lance was looking at her was the way he had looked at Misty moments before, with a despairing kind of ardor.

  
“You should invite her up here to sit with us, I can go – it can be almost romantic. You staring at her while she eats." Ash teased his friend lightly and jabbed him in arm.  
For a few minutes Lance didn’t respond, he just stared down at the dining room looking slightly lost, Ash started to speak but was cut off as Lance pushed off from the railing and walked past him to head to the stairs readying himself to leave, “Tonight, I’ll come by your room with the pictures – it’ll be late so stay up.”

  
Slightly bemused Ash nodded, “alright, but Lance seriously – you’ve liked her for ages. I know it’s not really the time and place to ask her out, but what harm could it do in at least talking to her? You know, making the first step.”

  
Ash had only meant to be encouraging, yet he watched Lance stop and turn to give Ash his profile. There was a smirk on his face and bitterness in the eyes of the Dragon Master as he looked down the stairs into the dining room; “because she’s here with her fiancée.” he carelessly threw out the comment like it meant nothing but Ash knew better – it would have been killing him.

  
Lance walked down the stairs and of the dining room without looking back; Ash knew he probably wouldn’t see him till later tonight and turned back to pick up his and Lance’s empty plates, “Pikachu?” He looked around the floor he was on and couldn’t find his Pokémon, figuring Pikachu had become bored while he and Lance were talking Ash peered over the railing to try and locate Brock.

  
He saw Dawn’s hair first and then noticed that they were all looking for him, he furrowed his brows and mouthed ‘what?’ as the looks on their faces were worried. He followed Brocks point to where he saw Pikachu, eating happily off of Misty’s plate.

  
He felt his heart plummet to his knees as he met the familiar green eyes of his ex-girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Ash knows the business, albeit slightly vaguely and finally a glimpse of Misty!
> 
> Introduction to more romantic relationships in this chapter between some of our main characters, or perhaps what was left of a relationship?  
> Bit more mystery revealed about Ash’s past and what he’s been up to – or what he’s been prevented from doing…
> 
> Okay, so request/question time – I like involving readers a bit more in my stories – well as much as I can at least. 
> 
> While I do have a set story for what will happen, does anyone have anything in particular they want to see – and I’m talking across the board. I’m open to ideas and if in any way they don’t MASSIVELY infringe on where I am trying to get to, I may give it a go.  
> Specific Pokémon they want to see, (yes, I do have Ash’s team almost sorted out in my mind, but I am not averse to any other suggestions) moves used…etc.
> 
> I have my main characters pretty much sorted; however are there any cameos’s that people would like to see? Anyone from Hoenn, Sinnoh, Johto and Kanto – remember Unova is only a passing thought in this story “a far off land” with only rumors about it – as shown in this chapter actually. 
> 
> On the other hand – anything you don’t want to see?
> 
> Or please just let me know what you think regarding this chapter, hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash has a chat with Misty, Ash and Brock learn more about what's going on in Victory Road

Pikachu!” Dawn hissed loudly, trying to get his attention as she watched the traitorous Pokémon munch happily off of Misty’s plate.

She looked back up at Ash, worry plastered all over her face. He was staring down at Misty and looked like he had just been sucker-punched in the gut, Misty on the other hand was looking remarkably calm for the situation she was in, she was meeting Ash’s gaze and seemed to be waiting for his next move.

Refusing to accept the futility of getting Pikachu away from the bacon, Dawn stood up from the table she was at. She had barely managed to get one leg over the other side of the bench when Brock leaned forward and grasped her wrist tightly. She tugged at her wrist, but when Brock didn’t let go she met his eyes with a furious glare, “Brock! Let go!”

“Sit down.” Brock’s tone brook no argument, he would not let go of her wrist until she sat back down. Dawn‘s glare morphed into a hurt frown and slowly she sat down again. It wasn’t until Brock had gotten her promise that she wouldn’t get up again and Forrest’s affirmation that he would pin her down if necessary that he let her wrist go.

It hadn’t really hurt, but just to make her friend feel bad Dawn made a showing of rubbing her wrist as though it did actually smart, “it wouldn’t have mattered either way Dawn,” Brock said and continued eating nonchalantly while Dawn’s mouth dropped open.

“I’m sorry, are we looking at the same thing?” She asked incredulously, “Pikachu is eating off _Misty’s_ plate. _Misty!”_

“Yes, I know who she is.” Brock’s sarcasm was not lost on Dawn and she glared at him again while Forrest tried not to laugh.

“This is the cow that left Ash seven years ago without any reason, no note and no explanation as to why, and then didn’t respond to him at all whenever he tried to contact her after that!”

“Don’t call her that,” Brock responded calmly, but there was a steel-edge to his tone that Forrest didn’t miss and he tugged gently on Dawn’s shirt sleeve to alert her that she was close to getting Brock a bit more than irritated.

Brock was generally a very calm and collected kind of person; however he was not someone that would tolerate nastiness towards any of his friends and could become very protective if provoked.

“I was there Brock. I know what I saw – Ash loved her and she just left him heartlessly, without even a word. She just stole off in the middle of the night, I’ll call her whatever I damn well like; I hate her for what she did to Ash.”

There were a few moments of tense silence as Dawn’s furious whisper and built-up anger towards Misty was laid bare for Brock and a slightly embarrassed Forrest to hear, slowly Brock finished chewing his food and swallowed. He placed his knife and fork down gently and then turned a rather black look at Dawn who pulled away from her friend slightly, scared at his facial expression.

“I understand that you are old enough to make your own decisions and you have your own opinions Dawn,” Brock started with a frosty tone, “however, when it concerns an old friend of mine I do not have to hear it – no, don’t say anything. I’m not finished.” Brock cut off Dawn with a hard swipe of his hand and she closed her mouth quickly.

“Misty is an old friend of mine and she was there before me, before Tracey, May and Max and well before you. Other than Pikachu and myself she has probably spent the longest time travelling with Ash and she has supported and taken care of him in more ways than one. While I do not support Misty in what she did, I also don’t know why she did why she did either. Neither do you, therefore whatever you have to say about her can be considered null and void.”

“Excuse me?” Dawn finally interrupted looking rather offended, “null and void? I was _there_ Brock! Ash adored her and as far as I saw there was nothing to change her mind about travelling with him again! And to leave him like she did?” Dawn looked mutinous, “she hurt him. Hurt him deeply, she deserves every bad thing said about her and more!”

Brock interlocked his fingers and brought them up to his chin so he could rest it upon them, “be that as it may, whatever is between them is exactly that – between them. You have no say in the matter and I don’t want to hear you badmouth Misty in front of me again, whatever you wish to say out of my hearing, fine. There is nothing I can do about that, but you better be warned not to let your jealously get the better of you, because if Ash hears you…” Brock didn’t bother finishing his sentence; he figured Dawn had got the message.

“I’m not jealous.” Dawn bit out and even Forrest laughed a little bit until she turned upon him the same glare she had given Brock for laughing also.

“I’m not!” She stamped her feet on the floor for emphasis and Brock shook his head before picking up his fork again, “whatever you say Dawn, however I suggest you leave Pikachu alone-” he gestured with fork over to the happy mouse Pokémon who was now nuzzling Misty’s cheek.

“Misty has been a favorite with Pikachu for as long as I can remember, sometimes I wonder if he prefers Misty to Ash.” Brock let out a little chuckle, “you would never have got Pikachu away from Misty and Pokémon are a lot like their trainers, Pikachu adores Misty much like you say Ash once adored Misty.”

Dawn bit her lip and looked at Misty gently playing and talking to Pikachu, “but she hurt Ash,” Dawn said to herself, “how can Pikachu just be alright with that?”

Brock shrugged his shoulders and continued eating, “Pokémon are not only naturally more forgiving than humans but they can feel and see things that their trainers cannot. Considering the bond that Pikachu has with both Ash and Misty, maybe Pikachu knows something that we don’t.”

* * *

 

 

Ash took several steps back from the railing so that he could no longer see anyone in the dining area; he could feel his fingers shaking and adrenaline begin to kick in. Of course Pikachu would go down to see her, of course Misty would share her rasher of bacon with Pikachu – as she always had.

It had been seven long years since he had seen Misty and the same amount for Pikachu, it was no wonder that his Pokémon was currently greeting her in the manner that he was. Pikachu had always adored Misty and despite the bike incident – which for some reason they both tended to blame it all on him, the two were extremely close. Many mornings Ash had woken to find Pikachu curled into Misty rather than himself, most meals he had found Misty sharing some of her food with Pikachu and sometimes Ash had even found himself gently shocked for teasing Misty.

Ash knew he had to go down to collect his Pokémon; Pikachu wouldn’t leave Misty unless he went down there himself to collect him. He cursed quietly; Pikachu was extremely crafty and had managed to put him in a position he hadn’t thought he’d been ready to be in. Ash hadn’t seen her since the night she left, hadn’t heard her voice properly or had any contact with her, that had all been on her – she was the one that cut off all contact despite his frequent attempts to contact her.

In the end it had been Brock that had stopped him from leaving his second go round with the Sinnoh League, they had been at Pastoria City when Misty had left and by the time he had made it to Canalave Ash had been more than willing to forgo his spot in the tournament and head back to Kanto to find her and figure out what was wrong.

Brock had convinced him to wait till at least he had finished with the League; it was a long-standing rule that when a trainer applied to enter a league and subsequently compete in the regions Conference, they could not leave the region until such time as they had completed the challenge. Time was not an issue, and you were allowed to go at whatever pace you liked, had Ash left the region before he had finished battling the Gym Leaders and then competed in the Conference, he would have been forfeit until the next go-around.

Usually it was only a year’s wait, but there had been one time where in Kanto where it had taken seven years in between Conferences.

Misty leaving the group had helped him beat the rest of the Gym Leaders and win the Lily of the Valley Conference; it was a bittersweet win, full of ferocity and many of the Gym Leaders that had fought him before remarked on his change after he beat them again. If his Pokémon had noticed anything they still hadn’t let him down at the time and Brock and Dawn – who had been worried, had let his anger, hurt and frustration play out.

His match with Cynthia was one he barely remembered, however he had been told that it was a sight to behold. After that win he had gone back home to Pallet to avoid all the furor that was surrounding him. He had already won the Silver Conference and while he wasn’t the first to win two major conferences, he was still one of only two to have ever done so.

He waited in Pallet town for two weeks for Misty to contact him, once he realized that she was not going to contact him and Professor Oak had once again not entered him in the Indigo Conference, Ash had set off to Pewter to find Brock. He spent another week in Pewter before deciding that he wanted to go around the Orange Islands again.

Brock had been all for it, and Ash figured that when he got back he would be able to enter into the Indigo League and then Misty would have no choice but to see him.

However, his plan had never come to fruition. Once he had Brock had finished their journey around the Orange Islands, Ash found that Professor Oak still wouldn’t let him compete in the Kanto region tournament again, saying that he had to compete in Hoenn and win first.

At the time Ash had taken it in stride and had channeled all his energy into the Hoenn league, he had been joined again this time by Max and May who were also planning to take on the Gym Leaders. Because the brother and sister had decided to join Ash upon his journey, it had taken him twice as long to finish the Gym Leader portion of the challenge, not that he minded. It had been nice to take his time to enjoy the journey and also guiding May and especially Max, to their Gym Leader victories.

While in Johto he had been steadfastly determined to win and Sinnoh had been plagued by anger and despair, Hoenn was relaxing. It had reminded him of the fun that he had with Pokémon. It had been what he needed after Sinnoh, and eventually Misty and her crushing actions had faded to the back of his mind.

Every now and then he had remembered, he remembered the uplifting feeling of seeing her smile at him and the thumping in his chest when she kissed him. He remembered sitting with her at the Lake of Rage the night before he had to battle Pryce again and watching the Aurora Borealis with her.

It was only now in seeing her that he remembered what it felt like when he had lost her, a feeling he had once promised to never forget and now knew that despite what he had thought, he didn’t just forget. It was still as potent as the morning that he woke up to find she and all her gear was gone. No note, no nothing.

Back then, when he had finally managed to calm down and listen to Brock’s explanation that had she been stolen away, then they probably wouldn’t have taken everything she travelled with also, Ash had found a short message left on his voicemail demanding that he no-longer contact her and good-luck with the rest of his journey.

He had played the message a dozen times, trying to find a hitch in her voice – trying to imagine the look on her face as she had spoke into the machine. It had led, to the first time in a very long while, that he had yelled at Pikachu. His Pokémon had got it into his head that he had done something to make Misty leave and had not been happy about it. Eventually, Pikachu’s daily jolts combined with the confusion and guilt had unleashed into a rage where Ash had yelled at Pikachu to leave him alone and to go and find Misty himself, followed by a few expletives and ramblings towards his beloved Pokémon.

After that, it had been a visit from Lance and Pikachu that had brought Ash back from his despair. Finally understanding that his Master had not been the cause for Misty’s departure, Pikachu had rallied and had poured a lot of affection into Ash through that period.

Dawn and Brock had also done their best during the trying time, while Dawn had tried to keep his spirits up and Brock had managed to talk him into waiting till the end of the Sinnoh tournament to go and confront her, it had been Lance that had got him moving and training again.

The fist-fight that had ensued had horrified Dawn, Brock had refused to treat either of them but he did laugh afterwards at their stupidity. Lance had stayed with them for just over a month before he had to move on again, but it had been enough to get Ash not only up and moving again, but to also have clear direction in what he wanted to achieve.

Once Ash had come back from Hoenn, fresh off his third victory and eager to take on Kanto, he had found himself again stopped from entering the Indigo Conference by Professor Oak. The excuse that time had been that he was riding the waves of celebration and to take a little while until it all died down – like he had done when he had head to the Orange Islands after his Lily of the Valley Conference victory. Ash had done that, but instead of going anywhere, he had stayed in Pallet town.

It had been his longest stay at home since he had been ten years old and after a year, when he had gone back to Professor Oak he had once again found the Professor hesitant to enter him, and eventually Professor Oak had revealed that he never had any intention to enter Ash again.

It had been the final nail in the coffin and embittered, Ash had met Brock at Vermillion and together they set out again. Over the next three year period, Ash took on the Battle Frontier Brains in Hoenn, Johto and Sinnoh; he had also taken time out to help train Max in Hoenn who had joined them briefly at the Battle Frontier while May was off with Drew and Dawn in Sinnoh.

The past two days had been the first time he had set a foot back in Kanto after three years, standing in the Indigo Plateau put him firmly back in home-territory and slowly he was beginning to realize what he had left behind.

Gritting his teeth and trying to leave the thoughts of his past behind, Ash made his way to the stairs and slowly stepped down them. Once he got to the bottom he took in another deep breath and made his way down the aisles to where Pikachu was waiting for him.

He was stopped and greeted many times, it made his nerves jolt every time he heard a cheery,“Hello Ash!” or a whispered reverent “that’s Ash Ketchum!” He steadfastly ignored looking at Brock or Dawn, he didn’t want to see the looks on their faces, he knew Dawn wouldn’t approve and Ash had never asked Brock what he felt about the whole thing.

Her red hair was getting closer and as he went over in his head what the first thing he would say to her would be, he felt his ability to speak dwindle.

“If it isn’t Ash Ketchum! I thought I recognized that yellow menace over there, c’mere!” Crasher Wake’s booming voice and bone-breaking hug made Ash smiled briefly for a moment; Crasher pushed him back and kept his hands on his shoulders while he inspected him.

“Last time I saw you, it would have been you taking on Cynthia about 7 years ago, you’ve grown since then, shrimpy little thing you were too.” Crasher was squinting at Ash as he looked him up and down, almost unbelieving of Ash’s growth spurt.

Ash laughed, he was now taller than Crasher but the man still had a breadth on him that Ash could never hope to achieve. The big man was larger than life and seemed to breathe vivaciousness, it could be considered strange that he was such good friends with Juan; however the Sootopolis Gym Leader shared the same joie-de-vivre as Crasher. For two people so unalike in temperament, they both enjoyed the pageantry of it all - almost as much as Fantina.

Juan had come over and gave Ash a sweeping bow in greeting, Crasher had laughed boisterously at it and slapped Juan on the back so hard that the Water Trainer had almost careened straight into Ash. Once he had straightened up, Juan have given the departing Crasher a side-eye glare before turning back to Ash and flashing him a blinding smile.

“Juan, how are you?”

“Fabulous, young man, fabulous - but I must say, it’s been a while since any of us have seen you. What on earth have you been up to? We’ve all been waiting for your Indigo Conference announcement; surely the Battle Frontier can’t be all that interesting?” Ash grinned; Juan was one of many Gym Leaders who didn’t like the idea of a Battle Frontier and made no bones about his dislike of it. While in Hoenn, Ash had come across Wallace who had begged and pleaded Ash to not tell his teacher that he was taking part. As far as Ash knew, Juan still didn’t know and by the sound of his tone of voice in regards to the Battle Frontier, Wallace wasn’t about to tell his former mentor anytime soon.

“Sorry to disappoint Juan, but I have no plans for Kanto just yet.” Ash scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile; Juan pursed his lips in distaste and nodded his assent. “Hm, well dear boy – do try and make it soon. Some of us would like to see it in this century – I have no doubt that you and Lance will give off another stunning display.”

Ash nodded, “I’ll do my best, sir.”

“Sir?! Fabulous – I’ll have to get Wallace to start saying that, sir!”Juan sent him another charming grin before sweeping away in search of his student. Ash chuckled to himself; he was going to get a beating from Wallace when the Hoenn Champion found him.

“Pika-Pi! Pikachi-Pi!” Ash found his good humor disappearing as he fought the urge to just run away from the situation. Fixing his face so that he was hopefully not smiling, frowning or doing something terrifying in-between, Ash turned around.

Misty was standing before him; Pikachu was on her shoulder and being happily petted by her while waving at Ash, “Pika-Pi!”

 _Yeah, yeah – I know she’s here you cheeky buggar,_ Ash thought to himself as he walked closer, once he stood within touching distance he stopped and cleared his throat. He raised his hand to wave at Misty and then quickly struck his hand down and tried not to let the mortification on his face show at his random actions.

 _A wave Ash? Seriously?_ Ash thoughts suddenly morphed into Lance’s mocking tone and he knew his face had turned into a scowl.

“Hello Ash,” he jumped slightly at the sound of her voice and finally raised his eyes to meet her own, she was smiling but it wasn’t as warm as it used to be. Her hair was still red – it was longer and no longer fit as a side ponytail so it was tied up at the back of her head.

“Hel-” Ash coughed briefly to hide his stutter, “hello Misty.”

The imaginary chasm between was large and filled with unanswered questions, the tension was tangible and Ash wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in the whole dining hall noticed the strange atmosphere that was surrounding the two. He could see that she looked slightly uncomfortable and part of him felt glad – another part just felt dejection. He didn’t want her to feel that way around him, ever. While he did want to know why she left him, it wasn’t the time and the place to get into that discussion and quite frankly it was getting to the point where he just wanted to move on.

“How have you been?” He asked her while breathing in deeply to calm himself down and not let a blush rise to his face, small talk had never been his forte and in normal circumstances he could have a good conversation with anyone, especially Misty, however the awkwardness between them made it frustratingly difficult.

She seemed initially surprised by his question and he was about to retract it when the warm, brilliant smile she used to give him burst through and made him falter, “good, I’ve been good – and you?”

She suddenly seemed more eager to talk to him and Ash pondered for a second whether or not she had been expecting a different question, he then thought to answer her question with a non-subtle reference to what they were both really thinking about, but decided to take the gift she had offered, “yeah, great.” He smiled back at her and nodded.

“Great, that’s great,” she smiled again and bowed her head slightly so as not to look him in the eyes, she seemed to struggle over a question and Ash was on the edges of telling her to ask it – no matter what it was, when she shook her head slightly and then raised it up again, “so – how’s your mom?”

Ash opened his mouth to speak and then stopped; he felt all the blood drain from his face, his eyes bulged slightly and his jaw went slack.

 _Oh my god,_ was all that was running through his head. The panic that erupted inside of his was like an active volcano, he stood stock still in motion – no part of him was moving and he knew he must have looked like a complete idiot.

“Ash?” Misty asked with worry in her tone and finally Ash broke free of his panic-induced paralysis and turned to look at her, “I have to go,” he said robotically.

“Go?” Misty parroted but she was cut off as Pikachu bounded off her shoulder and followed the now departing Ash to the double doors of the dining area.

Ash felt the familiar weight on his shoulder as he hustled out of the dining area, of all the things for him to forget – and then to remember while he was finally talking to Misty. If he wasn’t in such a hurry he would have slapped a palm to his forehead and kicked himself.

He weaved in between the bustles of people and completely ignored anyone calling his name as he bounded up five flights of stairs to get to his room, once in there he shut the door and locked it – not wanting to be interrupted.

He took a few deep breaths and Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to bounce onto the bed, Ash took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair to tame it slightly and sat down at the computer in his room.

He turned it on and waited for it to load, “I can’t believe I forgot, I’m so dead!” Ash muttered to himself while the computer beeped into life, he quickly turned on the video chat software and waited for the other end to pick up his call.

“Ash honey!”

The familiar auburn hair and warm brown eyes of Delia Ketchum popped onto the screen; she was wearing her apron and had flour on one cheek.

Ash could feel happiness burst into his chest and he grinned widely, Pikachu at the sound of her voice quickly hopped onto Ash’s lap from the bed and waved at the computer screen, “Pika-Pi-Pi!”

“Hi Mom, guess where I am?”

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you forgot,” Brock laughed loudly before his face was met with Ash’s pillow. Brock grabbed and chucked it back at his friend, “I mean honestly Ash – I reminded you three times before we got here.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ash grabbed the pillow before it hit his head and placed it back down on his bed, he flumped his body back down and let out a sigh. The two were waiting for Lance to show up with the promised pictures, Ash had let Brock in on what Lance had told him earlier that day and they had tried to come up with various ideas as to what could be causing the breakdown of the Pokémon.

Brock definitely stood by the theory of the origin, of what they were now calling a ‘disease,’ being in Victory Road. However, he too had no idea as to what could possibly be causing it. Somehow, their conversation had segued into Ash’s short conversation with Misty at breakfast that morning and following that, Ash running out of the Dining area like he had some angry Houndour on his tail.

Brock finally sobered up from his laughing, “I suppose your Mom was happy to know you were back in Kanto?”

Ash smirked, “yes and no – she was angry that I didn’t come through Pallet to visit her.” Brock raised an eyebrow, “did you explain the circumstances?”

Ash nodded and yawned, “yeah – but I don’t think she really gets the importance of a Summit and besides it’s been three years since I last saw her properly, she must be terrified at the state of my underwear.”

Brock chuckled, “I suppose so, three years –really? Three years since you have been back here?”Ash nodded and Brock let out a low whistle. A few times a year Brock had come back to Kanto for birthdays and Christmas and other holidays to spend time with his family, Ash hadn’t joined him then. He had spent time with May, Max and their family when he was in Hoenn, had travelled with Lance briefly in Johto and had spent time by himself while he was in Sinnoh and Dawn was back in Twinleaf.

Ash had always been welcomed to join Brock and he knew it, but he just figured it was nice for Brock to get away from him once in a while. As good friends as they were, Ash could appreciate that he didn’t do half as much for Brock as his friend did for him, and his mother had never made any noises about him coming back.

She had always encouraged him in everything that he did – as long as he checked in with her once in a while, which was something he usually made sure to do. She had made him promise to visit her as soon as the Summit was over which he had dutifully agreed to, with what was happening with Pokémon Ash was slightly worried for his mother and for her Mr Mime. He was hoping that he and Lance could come to an agreement of sorts in regard to what it was that Lance wanted of him.

“But other than being unhappy at your drive-by, how is Mrs. Ketchum?” Ash gave a thumbs-up gesture and yawned again, “c’mon Lance, some of us need to catch up their sleep,” he muttered grumpily.

As soon as he had said it, there was an abrupt knock on the door followed by Lance entering quickly and shutting the door behind him.

The Dragon Master was breathing hard and peering out the peep-hole in the door, Ash and Brock shared a bemused look, “Uh, Lance?”

“Shhh!!!” Lance hushed Ash and waved his hand haphazardly behind him, he was still peering out the door seemingly looking for someone. Ash got up from the bed and gently padded over to his friend at the door, “what was the point in even knocking if you weren’t going to wait for an answer?”

“You should be used to that,” Lance replied without missing a beat and Ash sighed before heading back to his bed to wait for Lance to be satisfied with whatever it was he was doing.

Another few seconds passed and Lance relaxed, he pulled away from the door with a grin on his face, “safe, I thought for a moment that A-” Lance stopped and he turned his poker-face on as he noticed Brock on the adjacent bed, Brock waved slightly, slightly unsure if he was allowed to be there, “hey there.”

There were a few moments of silence before Ash broke in with “you should be used to this,” and the tension was dispelled, Lance scoffed and pulled the finger at his friend who just grinned in response.

“How much do you know?” Lance finally asked Brock as he pulled out the computer chair and sat down; Brock debated whether or not to tell Lance that he knew everything that Ash did – courtesy of Ash himself. He could possibly be putting Ash into more trouble than he should have been in, then again technically Ash shouldn’t have known as much as he did either.

In the end it didn’t matter as Ash spoke for him, “Brock knows everything that I know – everything you told me at breakfast, what was in the notes, all of it.”

Brock waited for the explosion but all he found was Lance nodding and retrieving a small USB stick from a hidden area in his gloves, “good.”

“You’re not mad?” Brock asked while Lance got to work on bringing up the photos on the screen, Lance shook his head and grinned, “that would be slightly hypocritical of me, Ash shouldn’t know all that he does and besides – I would have been shocked if he didn’t tell you. Besides we need more brains like yours.”

Like mine?” Brock queried and Lance noticed as he started to work through the encryptions on the USB stick, “yeah – Ash has told me that you have a good mind for strategy. He put your name up next to his in the champion’s room as his strategist – next time you’re in Johto you should come have a look, we actually need to get a photo of you to put up there.”

Brock looked around Lance to stare at Ash who just shrugged, “what? It’s true. Lance you didn’t bring any snacks did you?”

Brock ignored the banter between Lance and Ash for a moment, he smiled to himself – trust Ash to do something as monumental like that and not tell him. Technically, it wasn’t as true as Ash had so nonchalantly admitted– Ash had managed quite well by himself, sure he did use Brock’s strategies in the beginning but it almost always segued into something quite different, with Ash thinking outside the box in ways Brock didn’t even know were possible.

“Why would I have brought snacks?”

“Why wouldn’t you have brought them?”

“Do I look like the kind of person who would bring snacks along with top-secret information? Besides, you are not going to want to have food anywhere near you after you see these.”

“If we ever get to see these,” Ash muttered quietly to himself and lay back on the bed with a flump, completely missing Lance’s scowl.

“I’d like to see you try this,” Lance gestured to the machine and the intricate coding on it which made Ash leap up from the bed so quickly that he almost made Pikachu fly off the bed, “sorry buddy,” Ash apologized quickly before turning determined eyes back on Lance, “alright then, move your ass!”

Lance raised an eyebrow and abruptly stood up over his chair to get out of the way for Ash , Brock decided to intervene before their ego’s got in the way.

“Children, please – we are not here to see which of you is better at hacking. If you would care to remember there is something rather serious going on, something we need to figure out and it’s quite fatal to Pokémon and people alike. So, Lance – if you don’t mind?” Brock gestured to the computer and the Dragon Master sat down with a disgruntled look on his face and continued tapping away at the computer, while Ash had the grace to look sheepish while he sat back down.

“Tell me again why I let you stay here?” Lance asked and Brock let out a grin as he pushed back onto the wall to lean against it, “because I have a brilliant, logical brain.”

Both Lance and Ash let out groans, Ash picked up his pillow again and threw at Brock while Lance threw a punch at his leg, all of which Brock just laughed off.

Suddenly there was a beep from the computer, “got-it!” Lance whispered and both Ash and Brock leaped up from their beds to crowd around the computer. Lance hovered the mouse icon over the folder that contained all the pictures, “alright – be warned it’s pretty gruesome. The oldest to the most recent and it gets worse as we go on.”

Ash swallowed and then nodded, “yeah, I get it – just show me.” With that Lance double clicked on the folder and the slideshow popped up.

The first picture was of a Graveler, it didn’t look as bad as Ash was expecting – the Pokémon was curled into a ball, bits of its rock skin had chipped off and it was obviously dead.

“This was the first case we had of a Pokémon being mentally unstable – the rune part hadn’t begun at this point,” Lance explained and then clicked forward a few times on the slide show, “this is a month later.”

Ash heard Brocks intake of breath, on the screen was another Graveler – however this time, there was hardly anything left of the poor Pokémon, what was left was covered in deep gouge marks.

“These marks have no coherency, but it’s where we believe the runes really began to take place, this next one shows the first full one that we have-”

Lance clicked and the next image came up on screen, Brock had to look away – it was of a Zubat, dead and covered in its own blood. Its wings were broken and the Pokémon had attacked its own chest with no abandon, it had scratched so hard that all the skin was removed and you could see right through to the organs where a small etching could be seen upon the tiny heart.

“And you don’t know what it says?” Brock asked from behind Lance who turned around in his chair so that he could address Brock properly as the Breeder still had his back turned to the screen, “no clue, Lorelei and Agatha have searched through our Libraries and have come up with nothing – it was when we saw this that we decided to involved the Professors.”

“The Professors had nothing either, correct?” Ash asked, he was flicking through the photos carefully and finally stopped on the Arcanine that Lance had seen a month before.

Lance nodded “correct, this is the first Pokémon that didn’t come out of Victory Road,” Lance gestured to the Arcanine on the screen and Brock finally turned back around. “It was part of the reason the summit was held – well that and the next picture.”

Ash clicked over immediately and then wished he hadn’t, it was a picture of the torso that Lance had mentioned at breakfast. Ash could feel that breakfast come back up to settle in his throat and was now rather glad that he hadn’t seen the photos then.

“The rune on his collar bone,” Lance pointed it out to Ash and Brock who were both having a hard time keeping focused on the awful picture, “it’s exactly the same as what is on the Arcanine – in the same place too.”

Ash flicked back and forth between the two pictures to have a look, “you see it?” He asked Brock who nodded grimly, deciding that he had seen enough Ash minimized the slideshow and then sat back down on his bed.

Brock remained standing and Lance studied the two of them while he waited for them to digest what they had just seen. “Is that the only case of where the symbols have been the same?” Brock asked suddenly.

“Yes,” Lance answered him, “I had a look over them after I saw that and I noticed nothing similar in any of the others, but then again – over the time that this has been happening, what was once just scratches have now become symbols – and they are becoming more clear as time goes on. “

Brock nodded to himself absently and Lance narrowed his eyes, “what are you thinking?”

Brock sighed, “I’m thinking – that maybe it’s a message. Maybe the Pokémon are trying to tell us something.”

“But with runes?” Ash finally spoke up – “Brock, these symbols are probably…ancient. The only things similar I have seen are the Unknown, and then they are basically the alphabet!”

“Well then maybe it’s a language we don’t know of – I mean there is so much about Pokémon we don’t know. New Pokémon are being discovered every year, evolutions we never believed possible – how many Legendary Pokémon have you seen Ash? You’ve met Arceus for Christ-sake!”

Lance turned sharply to look at Ash who was looking tiredly at Brock, “you never told me that! I thought Arceus was just a myth?” Lance accused Ash who just waved a nonchalant hand.

“Yeah well, when you meet the Pokémon who possibly _created_ the entire universe, you kind of want to stay on their good side and when they ask you not to tell anyone – you don’t tell anyone. Not even Dragon Masters.” Ash added that last bit on with a stern look at Lance who closed his mouth and stopped his next argument.

Ash sighed, “I think the best bet we have in figuring these out is Cynthia – she’s pretty knowledgeable in all of this, and failing that she knows most of the Elders. I think the Elders of the towns should be involved, they may be privy to information that the League’s don’t have.”

Lance’s lip curled, “yeah, but the question is will they share it? Selfish dicks.”

Ash smiled a bit while Lance muttered to himself, “if anyone can get them to cooperate, it’s Cynthia. She needs to be made aware of this – all of this, not just what you guys are going to tell us at the Summit.”

Lance raised his hands, “not my choice – Agatha is the one who is withholding information. If it was up to me all of this would have gone out with the summons. Would have got people here faster.”

Ash ran a hand over his face and then through his hair, “right so – Cynthia. Tomorrow we get her involved and see what she can rustle up.”

“Don’t let Agatha or the rest know about it, it’s just between the three of us.” Lance spoke quickly and both Brock and Ash shot him looks. “It will slow the whole thing down, we need answers and we need them now. If the League comes into it, then so will a whole lot of systems and processes that will have fifteen hoops we will need to jump through and Agatha will be at the helm of that.”

Brock and Ash shared a look, “Lance – not getting them involved could seriously impact-”

“I’ll take all the blame,” Lance interjected quickly already knowing their objections. “I know, it’s a hard thing to ask – and it could possibly impact on you and your life with Pokémon if they find out… but it’s only two days to the Summit, and we need _something_ to get them to agree.”

“Agree to what?” Ash asked Lance who didn’t look at him but stared at the carpet. “I have a few ideas, but you sent your Dragonite to me Lance, you sent your strongest Pokémon to _deliver me a freaking note.”_

Lance sighed and bit his top lip, “we don’t know what we’re dealing with, we don’t know anything about any of this. We need information and it’s what we don’t have a lot of at present – the best way to get it is to go directly to the source.”

Ash nodded, “you want me to go into Victory Road don’t you?”

Lance raised his head, “not alone – I would go with you and anyone else you wanted” Lance looked up at Brock quickly, “we could explore it and maybe find answers.”

Ash moved back on his bed to lean back against the wall to take in what Lance was asking of him, Brock side-eyed Lance, “that’s a lot to ask someone, especially with what is happening to the Pokémon and people in the cave.”

“I know that,” Lance sounded frustrated and glared at Brock, “I know that it’s a huge thing to ask – but you said it yourself, ‘how many Legendary Pokémon has Ash seen?’ How many times has he been in danger and he’s still here.”

“Luck runs out.” Brock replied heatedly.

“I don’t think it was just luck that got him through it,” Lance replied snarkily and Brock gave him a grim grin, “were you there to know?”

“Just to be clear,” Ash interrupted loudly in between Lance and Brock’s argument, “you want me to go into Victory Road and find information. Nothing else?”

Lance turned back to Ash and nodded eagerly, “yeah, I would suggest a team of three plus myself. Just information Ash, if we see anything – we don’t engage. We run.”

Ash met Lance’s eyes and he could see the sincerity there, he meant what he said about not engaging with the potential enemy. Ash looked away and he focused on Pikachu dozing at the end of his bed, “what about my Pokémon, what if something happens to them?”

To that, Lance had nothing to say. He knew that there was no current cure and he understood the risks involved in what he was proposing to Ash. “I know you are willing to risk your Pokémon Lance, but did you stop to think that maybe I wouldn’t be so willing?”

Lance nodded, “the thought did cross my mind. More than once and if you think that I haven’t faltered in my resolve you would be wrong. I don’t want to lose my Pokémon any more than you do, but-”

“-if it keeps happening, your Pokémon may eventually succumb to whatever it is affecting them anyway.” Brock finished gently, “the question is are you willing to take the risk to wait and do nothing and maybe your Pokémon will be alright, or do you do something about the problem and risk your Pokémon the same fate, maybe just earlier?”

Lance smiled sadly at Brock who nodded back and then addressed Ash, “whatever you decide Ash, I’ll support your decision and if you do decide to go, then know that I will come with you should you ask me.”

There was silence for a moment while Brock and Lance looked to Ash for an answer, “what would happen if I said no?” Ash asked suddenly.

“Then you would stay here; stay here until the Summit was declared over-”

“I meant who would go in my place?” Ash interrupted and finally turned away from Pikachu to look at Lance, “you’re not going to give up on this – if it’s not me, then it’s probably you – you leading the team. I want to know who else you would take with you.”

Lance shrugged, “honestly I don’t know. I hadn’t thought that far – actually Agatha probably wouldn’t let me go, she wouldn’t agree to it at all. Sending people into Victory Road, she would stomp on the whole thing.”

“If you knew she would say no, they why did you bother asking Ash?” Brock asked slightly bewildered.

“Because Agatha trusts Ash, well – more than me at least and she would trust Ash to do the right thing. To engage when it’s right, to run when you need to run – Agatha would believe in Ash to get the job done.” Lance shook his head, “I on the other hand – she believes in me, but she knows me far too well. I get too involved, I care too much – I need to be reigned in and I reckon if Ash would be leader of the party then Agatha would know that I recognize that and respect him. I would listen to him.”

Ash let out an amused snort, “no you wouldn’t!”

Lance grinned wolfishly, “Agatha doesn’t need to know that.” Ash let out a hollow laugh and rubbed his eyes for a second, “I need to think about this, I’m sorry Lance – but I can’t give you a straight answer right now.”

Lance shrugged and got up from his chair, “I figured that – and if I had more time to give I would let you have it – but I need to know before the Summit Ash. I need to know before I sit in that chair and start trying to manipulate the situation to go my way.”

Ash nodded while Lance shut down the PC and took out the USB to hide it away again, “you will have an answer before the Summit begins, I promise.”

Lance head to the door and peered out the key-hole again, “thank you – I know what I’m asking of you is not an easy decision to make and I will understand if you give me the answer I don’t want to hear.” Both Brock and Ash waved as Lance gently opened the door and left the room.

Brock shut the door behind Lance and let out a heavy sigh, “don’t!” Ash warned and Brock let out a laugh while putting his hands up in a surrender gesture, “not going to say a word.” Brock made his way back to his bed and flopped back down on it; he took a look at his watch and groaned slightly at the 2.14am time glowing back up at him.

“It’s what we thought then,” Ash spoke up suddenly and Brock twisted his head to look over at Ash. He was laying face up on his bed and was staring up at the ceiling, “yeah – it is.” Broke spoke carefully wondering what was going through his friends head at the moment.

 “So, you really named me your strategist?” Brock asked slyly and Ash let out a laugh before grabbing for his pillow again.

“I’m not going to give it back this time!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So – long chapter. Twice as long as the others, but I did promise that not only would we have Lance’s reason for brining Ash here (which I’m sure most of you guessed anyway) and Ash’s first meeting with Misty. 
> 
> That, combined with a brief run-down on what Ash has been up to all this time equals this rather long chapter. In writing this I messed up my time-line slightly (brain of the future) so there are few small things I had to go back in change in other chapters. Nothing major – the story hasn’t changed, just a few bits regarding the past and what has happened in terms of where Ash has been and when. 
> 
> For the record: NO, I don’t hate Dawn! I actually think she’s great and she remains a favorite of mine – which is why she’s featured in this story. I think her reaction to Misty is quite justified – as a young woman I would have been just as indignant for a friend of mine if it had happened to one of them, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to recognize that there are two sides to every story in my youth either. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think – and any requests, comments or concerns? Let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash learns about Lance's history.

The next day had Ash wandering around the Indigo Plateau like a chicken with his head cut off, he had expected to see Cynthia at breakfast so he could ask to speak to her in private. Lance was just leaving the dining area as he, Brock and Dawn were arriving.

Cynthia hadn’t shown up while Lance was there and he said he would have a look round the Indigo Plateau as best he could, he had to meet Agatha and the rest of the Elite Four later that morning for a meeting regarding the Summit and he didn’t know when he would be let out.

Brock and Ash hadn’t told Dawn what they knew; they figured it was best that she was kept out of it for the time being. She wasn’t the quietest person around and she also knew a lot of people, they didn’t want her accidentally sharing something she shouldn’t – especially to some of the younger trainers.

However, they did engage her help in trying to find Cynthia and by the time they had finished their breakfast she still hadn’t arrived. “Do you know what room she’s staying in?” Brock asked Dawn as the group headed up to the front of the room to deposit their trays and rubbish.

“She’s on the sixth floor – but I’m not sure which room exactly.” Dawn said apologetically, “how about we split up? I’ll check the sixth floor and work my way down from there and you guys check down here and outside for her!” With that, Dawn took off out of the dining area and headed towards the sixth floor.

“What’s the bet she took the stairs again?” Brock asked amused by Dawn’s enthusiasm. They decided that Ash would check around outside and Brock would check the lower areas and they would meet back in the entrance hall once they had checked.

As Ash headed outside the Indigo Plateau he stopped outside the doors abruptly, looming in the distance was Victory Road and he wished for a moment that he had chosen to head down into the ‘dungeon’ area of the Indigo Plateau. It was eerie walking around the Plateau with no Pokémon in sight, quiet and unnatural. It was like you couldn’t help but know that something wasn’t right.

Ash walked around the Plateau twice as he had stopped and greeted old friends and rivals alike, he had hastily made up an excuse to avoid running with Morty the following morning – and thus every potential morning afterwards that he was here. Maylene, who he had found around the back of the building had given him a punch for a greeting along with a bright smile, Ash was sure that he would feel that punch well into next week.

He walked back into the Plateau frustrated and hoping that either Brock or Dawn would be waiting for him with Cynthia there – or at least a hint of where she could possibly be. As it turned out, neither Dawn or Brock were waiting for him so Ash busied himself trying to blend in with his surroundings by looking at the artifacts that were on display. He was just about to read the blurb below what he could only describe as a hunk of rock when he heard a familiar voice behind him, “If it wasn’t for the fact that I know you are trying to avoid everyone, I would feel slightly offended.”

Ash grinned and turned around, “hello Clair.” He greeted the Blackthorn Gym Leader warmly, as well as being Lance’s cousin, Clair happened to be a good friend of Ash’s despite their frosty beginnings. “I heard you had a tough journey getting here? If I had known you were coming through Blackthorn I would have waited –or at least gave you some accommodation.”

Ash waved her off, “thanks but we wouldn’t have stopped – we arrived in Blackthorn early and kept going – we were running out of time. And yes, I know. Get a watch!”

Clair smirked, “more like a day planner.” She sniggered, “bright yellow, with a Pikachu face on it.” Ash grimaced at her while she laughed to herself, “speaking of – where is the rodent?” Pikachu hadn’t gone outside with Ash who hadn’t blamed his Pokémon, he hadn’t liked it either and his Pokémon had decided to go with Brock downstairs.

“He’s with Brock, we’re looking for Cynthia – if you see her could you let know?” Ash tried to not let the urgency in his voice come through. Clair nodded absently, “on that note – if you see my lazy excuse for a cousin could you let me know, I’ve been here over a week and he still hasn’t come to find me.”

Ash smiled, Lance and Clair had grown up together and were more like brother and sister than cousins, Clair was older than Lance and despite his standing as not only a Dragon Master, a Champion of Johto and considered one of the strongest trainers of his age, Clair still teased him and took every opportunity possible to embarrass him.

“If you haven’t seen someone while in close proximity with them, then maybe they don’t want to be found.” Ash raised a brow and took in the double meaning of Lance’s words as he came up behind his cousin. Clair smirked and stepped back allowing Ash a better view of the two. Lance was scowling at Clair and stood in a defensive stance with his arms crossed, “what do you want? I’m a busy man.”

“Can’t a woman just say hello to her cousin – one she hasn’t seen in months?”

Lance just stared at her and Clair rolled her eyes, “the Elder Masters-”

“No!” Lance interrupted rudely and held a hand up, “no.” He pointed a finger at Clair who looked exasperated, “would you just hear-”

“No.”

“But-”

“No.”

“Lance!”

“No!”

Ash watched the two bicker, it was quite funny to watch Lance revert back to a child-like stubbornness and Clair becoming overly frustrated. It would lead to what it always did-”

“Ow!”

“Serves you right! Stubborn idiot!”

Ash let out a laugh which drew their attention, their arguments always ended the same way – Lance would stay stubborn and Clair in her frustration would hit him hard over the head.

That was the scene that Jasmine and Falkner were dragged into, Lance hadn’t noticed the couple behind him but Clair had, Ash saw the evil grin and her intentions before Lance did and had tried to avert her to no avail.

“Jasmine!” Clair said aloud but it was directly at Lance who stiffened, his cheeks went pink and then his whole face went white. “How are you?”

After some hesitation, Jasmine and Falkner made their way over to the group, she smiled warmly at Ash in greeting, Ash returned it and shook hands with Falkner all the while trying to send them mental signals of ‘get away, run away, go – now!’

Clair was extremely vindictive and hated losing anything – even petty arguments like the one she had just had. She also knew about Lance’s feelings for Jasmine and constantly exploited them and teased him about it.

“My cousin and I,” Clair latched on like a limpet to one of Lance’s arms and wouldn’t let go, Lance tried to shake her off but soon stopped when he realized she wasn’t finished with her torment, “were wondering about your wedding.”

Ash closed his eyes briefly before looking back at Lance, he was staring rigidly ahead with his jaw clenched, Ash wouldn’t be surprised if soon his eye would start twitching.

Falkner tried to engage him in conversation but Ash was too busy trying to find a way out the moment for his friend and gave short and rather terse answers. Thankfully, Falkner soon got the hint and turned back to Clair and Jasmine – who were now talking about Jasmine’s dress, or lack thereof.

“That sounds stunning, doesn’t that sound stunning Lance?” Lance let out a grunt and Jasmine looked up at him, “maybe we should change the subject, I think it might be a bit boring for a Dragon Master.” She let out an awkward laugh and Ash could see Lance jerk his head at the sound.

“Nonsense,” Clair said languidly but Ash could see a satisfied glint in her eye and despite the fact that he thought of her as a friend, and he couldn’t abide the thought of hitting a woman – he really wanted to stamp on her boot covered feet. Or get Pikachu to shock her, gently.

“What do you think Lance, white or pale pink for Jasmine’s potential dress?”

All eyes of the group were on Lance who was still trying to look stoic, to Jasmine and Falkner who didn’t know Lance as well as Clair and Ash did, he could almost look bored, or annoyed with the situation. To Ash and Clair, they could see the struggle in the Dragon Master, the desperation to get away from situation.

Falkner let out a laugh and casually draped an arm over Jasmine’s shoulders, “hard decision Master Lance? You may hold the future of my brides dress in what you say next.” He had said it jokingly and there was a good-natured friendliness about Falkner that belied his fierce persona when it came to battling.

Ash knew that under any other circumstances Falkner and Lance would have got along rather well – and while Ash was sure that while Lance didn’t hate Falkner for being with Jasmine, the self-loathing that Lance had built up inside due to his own cowardice, would probably spill over into resentment towards the flying Gym Leader.

Lance ripped his hand out of Clair’s grip so violently that it made Falkner and Clair step back while Jasmine let out a cry of surprise, he turned stiffly to Jasmine and grimaced down at her, “I am sure you will look magnificent in whatever it is you choose to wear.”

Jasmine met his sharp gaze and stammered out a thank you, before she could say anymore Lance nodded and turned on his heel to leave. The small group watched him go as he marched back to the staircase that would take him below, Agatha was waiting by the stairs for him and had been watching the small exchange, Ash noted that she had murmured something as Lance blew past her.

Slightly bewildered, Falkner and Jasmine left the group to head back up the stairs although Ash noted that Jasmine kept turning her head in the direction that Lance had gone and wondered if Lance finally had got Jasmine’s attention.

“That was cruel.”

Ash jumped, Agatha had sneaked up to him and Clair after Falkner and Jasmine had left. Lance had it right – the woman was silent and sometimes as creepy as her ghost Pokémon.

Clair waved a hand towards the older woman disdainfully, “Lance deserved it, besides - at least Jasmine paid attention to him for once. If he doesn’t get a move on then he’ll find she will be truly out of his reach.”

“She already is,” Ash argued, “she engaged – and taunting that in front of him is cruel.” He gestured to Agatha showing that he was in agreement with her.

Clair let out a scoff, “please – Jasmine has the choice of being with a low-level Gym Leader or my cousin, the Johto Champion, a Dragon Master and heir to the Blackthorn Clan. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Not every woman finds power and prestige as favorable as you do.” Agatha spoke up, her lip was curling and Clair sneered back. “Say’s a member of the Elite Four – never found anyone worthy? Or is it that you never wanted to share your glory?”

“My private life and choices are none of your concern-”

“And my cousin should be none of yours” Clair took a step toward towards Agatha in an attempt to intimidate her, fruitless in Ash’s opinion. Despite Clair’s height and Agatha having to crane her neck up awkwardly, Ash bet that there was little in the world that could intimidate Agatha. “I warn you, stop meddling in Lance’s life. The Elders are onto you and your schemes to keep away from the Clan.”

Agatha raised an eyebrow and smiled sardonically, “what Lance chooses to do all comes from him, I wonder at you and your Clan, you all seem to think that I have something to do with Lance’s refusal to come back and lead your little cult.”

Clair’s eyes flashed at the insult and Ash wondered if he should brave stepping in between the two women. Agatha finally took a step back and was able to fully look Clair in the eyes, “I understand that behind your cruelty is an effort to help Lance, however understand me. You are in my domain, my home and I will not have you disrupting it. If I see or hear of any more of this behavior you will be exiled from the Plateau until I say otherwise.”

Clair’s mouth dropped open, “you can’t-”

“Master Ash,” Agatha spoke over Clair, “do join me for a walk around the Plateau, I have something I would like to discuss with you regarding the safety of the area.” With that Agatha strode off towards the entrance effectively ending the conversation and leaving Clair gaping in her wake and Ash trying not to look as impressed as he felt.

“I’ll, um – see you later.” Ash smiled and patted Clair on the shoulder before quickly heading off to join Agatha; he suspected she wasn’t in a patient mood.

He found her waiting in front of the gates and made his way over to her, they were silent for a bit before Ash couldn’t help but laugh, “nicely done.”

Agatha smirked, “thank you – although, she did have a point.” Ash raised his eyebrows in question and Agatha sighed “Lance may be one of the most powerful trainers of his age – maybe even stronger than those that have come before him, but when it comes to women he is absolutely hopeless.”

Ash laughed loudly, Agatha’s resigned tone in regards to the situation probably spoke volumes of how stubborn Lance could be. “It’s true – but I don’t think Lance would try anything. He knows that Jasmine is engaged to Falkner and would never do anything to jeopardize that.”

“He wouldn’t” Agatha agreed, “but Clair would – and it could severely damage Lance’s standing within the League.”

Ash mused as they started walking around the Plateau grounds, “I have a feeling that this ‘safety’ talk has little to do with the Plateau and more to do with Lance.”

Agatha side-eyed him, “you’re a lot quicker to catch on than I first thought.” Ash scoffed and shook his head before getting back to the subject at hand, “you seem to know a lot about Clair – and the Blackthorn Clan as well.” Ash paused and waited for confirmation from Agatha who just kept walking, “you also make your dislike for the Clan’s and the Elders obvious. Much like Lance, it makes me wonder if you have had some influence on Lance in some way.”

At that Agatha stopped and turned to look at Ash directly who spoke again, voicing his concerns “both you and Lance – in fact most of the League’s don’t like the Clan’s or the Elders-”

“My dislike of Clan’s and the Elders doesn’t not stem towards others.” Agatha clarified and Ash took a moment to process that while Agatha continued on walking. “So, it’s only the Blackthorn Clan that you have an issue with?” Ash asked when he finally caught up to her.

Agatha pointed over to a seat underneath a large Beech tree and they made their way there to sit down, “Many trainers – especially those within the League don’t like Clan’s and Elders because they are of a different time.” Agatha explained, “there was once a time where being a part of a Clan and making your way up to being an Elder of that Clan was something to be revered. Back then, only Clan members were able to use Pokémon for battles, Elder status didn’t necessarily reflect one’s age either – it only reflected your strength as a trainer. It was the highest pinnacle one could achieve.

“Until the League came into play?” Ash asked trying to piece together Agatha’s history lesson, Agatha nodded “the League came into existence because many people were being found hurt due to their lack of knowledge regarding Pokémon and walking between cities and towns was becoming dangerous. The League was created by Elders of different Clan’s – the few that believed Pokémon were not just tools meant to be used for Clan’s to gain prestige and power. Of course there were those that disagreed with this notion.”

“Blackthorn,” Ash said and Agatha nodded.

“While they had been offered a seat within the Plateau, they had rejected it – many did and it’s why there are only the Elite ‘Four.’”

“Wait – you’re telling me that only four Clan’s accepted the League?” Ash asked surprised and Agatha nodded again, “yes, you have to understand that back then Clan’s were much more prosperous than they are now, in fact only a few exist now and still operate much like they did then. Blackthorn is one of them.”

“Hold on,” Ash interrupted, “if Blackthorn is so ‘anti-League’ then why is it that Lance was even allowed to compete?”

“Because he ran away,” Agatha revealed gently and Ash just stared at her, “It’s a part of Lance’s life that very few know about – one that the Blackthorn Clan has kept hidden, especially since he was the Champion of Kanto then– a very impressive title.” Agatha said with a hint of bitterness.

“So he ran away – became the Champion and now…they want him back?” Ash offered out rather confused.

“Essentially yes, they allowed Lance back into the fold once he had become the Champion, while they don’t like the League, they understood it was the way of the future, and the Blackthorn is nothing if not adaptable, it’s why they have existed for so long. With Lance as Champion it meant they had a foot-hold, a very big foot into the League and through Lance-”

“They could change all the rules.” Ash finished for her, “change things back to the way they were?”

“Indeed, however they met four other obstacles.”Agatha let out a rather catty grin, “most of the general public doesn’t know the rules around the Elite Four, and it’s kept secret for reasons such as this. When the Blackthorn Clan tried to infiltrate through Lance they found that in place a rule that stated unless all the Elite Four – plus Lance agreed against something, they couldn’t change anything.”

“Let me guess, you refused?” Ash said with a smile on his face.

Agatha let out a cackle and Ash laughed brightly, “well I guess that explains why the Clan doesn’t like you.” He sobered up, “but why do they want him back? I mean surely they can see that their Clan is still highly regarded – Lance isn’t called the ‘Dragon Master’ for no reason, everyone knows the Blackthorn Clan is the ‘go-to’ regarding Dragon Pokémon, mostly because of Lance.”

Agatha let out another sigh, “when they first tried to get into the League it failed, so now they are trying a different approach. They figure if they can get more than one member of the Blackthorn Clan into the Elite Four, then they can change the rules.”

Ash furrowed his brow, “and Lance?”

“Lance is one of kind,” Agatha spoke fondly; “there is no-one like him and I think that other than you, there is no one as good with Pokémon. You two have some uncanny ability to bring out the best in any Pokémon you come across. “Ash blushed at her praise, “many trainers from the Blackthorn Clan have come to challenge the Elite Four but none have made it past the semi-finals. I believe they would like Lance to come back, not only to ‘lead’ the Clan, but to also train others and Pokémon alike.”

Ash frowned, “so what you are telling me is that if Lance goes back to his Clan – he will become the leader of a factory of sorts?”

Agatha nodded, “Lance has a good head on his shoulders and yes, while I have influenced him which the Blackthorn Clan knows and resents me for immensely, there is only so much I can do. Dragon’s are in his blood, the Clan is a huge part of him and I can’t help but fear if he does ever go back home to stay. Every time I hear of him being in Blackthorn, I wonder if I will ever see him again.”

Ash sighed, “he seemed pretty adamant in refusing to talk about the Clan and the Elders with Clair, he’s also a nomad. He hates staying in one place-

“You two seem to have that in common.” Agatha interrupted drily.

” – even if he did go back to lead the Clan,” Ash continued with a grin at Agatha statement “I doubt that he would always be there – and like you said, he has a good head on his shoulders and he loves the League. He wouldn’t do anything to damage the system. Besides, who would he give up the title to? Currently the only person able to take on his role is me, he can’t leave the title without giving it away and since I won’t take it, he’s got that position till either I say otherwise or someone else beats him.”

“It’s possible.” Agatha returned, “someone out there could beat both of you and then where would we be? Especially if Blackthorn got their way and had a member on each seat of the Elite Four.”

“They would still need the Champion’s consent.”

“And if the Champion isn’t you or Lance? If this person can be easily manipulated?”

Ash sighed, “then we’ll deal with it when it gets to that, currently we have a bigger problem.” Ash jerked his thumb behind him toward Victory Road.

Agatha eyed him, “yes… the Summit. I trust you examined the pictures in great detail last night.”

Ash opened his mouth and then shut it so fast his teeth clicked together, he knew he looked panicked – he couldn’t help it. He turned to look at her with complete shock covering his face; he was running blank and couldn’t find any words to say to get him out of the mess he was in.

Agatha let out a chuckle, “I know about everything that goes on under my roof young man, everything. Never think otherwise.”

Taking her chuckle as one of slight approval of his and Lance’s actions, Ash appraised her and couldn’t help but be impressed, “does Lance know?”

She snorted, “he thinks he’s sly and can keep things from me, but I always know.”

Ash let out a chuckle, “what’s going to happen to me?” He asked, dreading the answer. Agatha remained as imperious as ever, “that depends on how well you answer my next question.”

Ash braced himself and met her steely gaze, “what is Lance’s plan?”

At her question Ash let out a whoosh of breath and rubbed a hand over his face. Agatha remained silent as he wrestled over what to do. He knew he should tell her, she already knew that Lance and he had broken many of the League rules and they could be forbidden from battling ever again, let alone training any Pokémon.

However, in telling Agatha he was breaking his promise to Lance. He didn’t like breaking promises that he made, trust was important to him – and very important to Lance. Then again, Lance obviously continuously lied to Agatha; it was slightly hypocritical on his behalf.

Ash leant forward from the seat and braced his elbows on his knees, “Lance wants me to lead a team into Victory Road, he wants to get in there and get answers directly from what we believe is to be the source. “

“What makes you think Victory Road is the source?” Agatha asked sharply.

“It’s where Pokémon were first found in this state-”Ash started but was cut off quickly by Agatha.

“That doesn’t mean it originated from Victory Road.”

“No, it doesn’t – but Brock-”

“Brock? Who else knows about all of this?” She asked commandingly.

“I thought you knew everything that goes on in your domain?” Ash asked, frustrated from being interrupted again.

The two glared at each other for a moment, “I can have you thrown out very easily Ketchum,” Agatha growled at him, it was the first time in a while where she hadn’t called him ‘Master’ showing just how angry she was.

“Yeah, I get that “Ash spoke firmly, “but if you keep interrupting me then we will never get anywhere.”

Agatha’s lip curled and after a moment she gestured for him to continue.

“Thank you, Brock thinks that because of the runes starting off so rudimentary – like the ones on the Graveller found in Victory Road, that it’s our best bet. Looking at the pictures, the later they are show that the runes become more complex and more like a symbol rather than just funny shaped lines. Arcanine aren’t found anywhere near Victory Road.”

“So what, you lead a team of…?”

“Whomever I want.”

“Whomever you want?” Agatha asked with mock surprise, “well how gracious of us – so you and whomever go into Victory Road, and then what?”

“We do our best to figure out what is happening.”

Agatha raised her eyebrow, “and if there is nothing?”

Ash shrugged, “then we come back out, no harm, no foul.”

“And if you happen to run into…something?”

Ash paused, “to be honest, I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I haven’t even told Lance if I am going to go.”

Agatha looked at him sharply and he nodded, “I’ve see the pictures Agatha – I’ve seen the torso, I know what is happening and I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to blindly say yes at the risk of mine, my Pokémon and other’s lives.”

Ash stood up and stretched, “it’s not an easy decision to make. I haven’t really had time to think about it. I’ve been trying to find Cynthia-” Ash stopped and turned back around to look at Agatha while smiling sheepishly.

“She is already well aware of what is happening. It’s probably why you can’t find her,” Agatha announced and Ash gaped at her while feeling a white-hot fury rise within him “what? She already knows? You told her? Then what was all this about Brock and me not being able to know?”

“Because I can trust Cynthia not to tell anyone else other than whom I ask her to, you on the other hand obviously tell this Brock” She almost spat the name out, “everything, and then who knows who he would then tell.”

“He hasn’t and won’t tell anyone anything.” Ash said heatedly in defense of his friend. “I trust him!”

“But I don’t!” Agatha said with finality, the two had a stare down until eventually Ash broke off with a frustrated grunt, “he and I haven’t told anyone else and we weren’t planning to.”

“Your other companion?” Agatha asked lightly.

Ash shook his head in the negative, “no – Dawn doesn’t know anything. She talks too much.” Agatha let out a snigger while Ash sat back down.

The two were silent for a bit, “I suppose that now you don’t have to tell Cynthia about your ‘plan’ all you have left to think of is whether or not you will do as Lance has requested of you.” Agatha said softly which Ash didn’t reply to.

“If it helps – I think it’s a good idea.”

Ash let out a hollow laugh, “do you?” He asked bitterly, “I suppose anyone would, as long as it’s not them risking their own Pokémon and their necks.”

Ash felt a hard whap at the back of his head and his hat fell off at the impact, “argh!” Ash raised his hand to rub at his head and turned to stare at Agatha in surprise.

She was staring at him angrily, “I’ll have you know that if I was any younger and my legs could make it through Victory Road – I would have been one of the first to volunteer!”

Ash sat up against the backrest of the chair, “yeah? Then why is it when Lance volunteered to go by himself you wouldn’t let him go? Why is it so okay for me to go and not him?”

“Because Lance will get himself killed!” Agatha shouted at him, “he is reckless where you are not.”

Ash scoffed and gave her a look as if to say, ‘yeah, right!’

Agatha looked away from him and breathed in deeply to calm herself, “there are different kinds of recklessness, sometimes I wonder if Lance even values his own life. Lance did not hesitate in his wish to send himself in, and if something went wrong – he would be the first to sacrifice himself.” She looked back at Ash – almost imploringly, “you wouldn’t, you would do your best to get out of there with everyone. The fact alone that you are thinking of whether or not you want to go shows a maturity and a caution in you that Lance does not have. That is what we need – and it’s something that Lance will never be able to understand.”

Ash could agree with her there, she was right regarding Lance and he wasn’t sure she had it right about him. But Ash had pretty much already made up his mind, if he didn’t go then Lance would and who knew what would happen then.

Agatha stood up from the bench, planning to go “I will admit that I have just and will continue to use emotional manipulation on you if I must. I cannot think of anyone better to go in these circumstances.” To her credit, Agatha looked as staunch as ever, she was the heart and soul of the League and would do anything to protect its future, Ash respected her honesty more than anything.

“When you decide, please let me know. If it’s yes – then I will help Lance in what I think he will try to accomplish at the Summit, if not – I will do my best to cease in making you feel worse about yourself.”

Ash smiled tiredly at her, appreciating her frankness. She had just turned around when he spoke up, “I’ll go – but there are two deal breakers – two conditions and if they don’t happen, then I’m out.”

Agatha turned back and raised an eyebrow, “one-” Ash started, “is that you allow my Mother here, I want her safe in the Plateau – treated like a queen and protected under all circumstances.”

Not once had Agatha ever wished for children, but from hearing that she knew that Delia Ketchum was one of the good ones –also a lucky one.

She did her best to maintain her steely façade, “and the second?”

“Is my first granted?” Agatha couldn’t help but grin at that – he was playing hardball and Agatha didn’t blame him, she relished it. “Granted,” she said with a nod, “your second?”

“When I go into Victory Road –with a team of my choosing, Lance will not be part of that team.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so again – another long chapter. Sorry it took me so long to get out – I was having a brain meltdown in which direction to take this. (Yes, I know I said I planned, but all it takes it one scene popping up in your head to completely change your mind!) Lot of theories popping up in reviews – are they right or not remains to be seen. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the mini-history in there that yes- I did make it up. 
> 
> Also Agatha being the boss that she is – again, I love writing her and I find her fabulous and fierce. 
> 
> To those who like Jasmine and Lance – hope you enjoyed their little ‘moment,’ and for those that couldn’t care less, are sort of on the fence, or are frustrated by the lack of Ash and Misty – well it’s coming. 
> 
> Someone has mentioned something in a review , so it’s changed my direction of where I was taking them, or at least some things that I was going to reveal later are coming earlier, etc. Nothing major has changed don’t worry! But some basic common sense was knocked into me – sense that I NEEDED. So thank you! 
> 
> I’m kind of hoping I can ‘shock’ you all when the time comes, or at least get some good reactions in reviews. But I am also really glad that you guys are interested enough to keep guessing and to keep reading – my story stats are fascinating, and a HUGE thank you to all that have ‘favorited’ / alerted the story and have reviewed so far. I really appreciate it.
> 
> As for cameos – soon, next chapter is the Summit after all, so please forgive me if the chapter is a little later than usual. I usually try updating a week and a bit – or two weeks after I last posted. This may take a little longer as there are a lot of character views and voices to get out! Thank you in advance for your patience!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think. If you don’t want to review – then you can always PM as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Summit, part 1

They day of the Summit was a nice one, the sky was a bright blue and the sun was shining brightly. It almost seemed a shame that they would all be cooped up in one room debating what to do regarding the current events.

There was a high tension in the air, it had been growing steadily since Ash had arrived and today it had reached its peak. People were mulling around everywhere, hardly talking and just seemed to be waiting. They were all waiting for the sound of the horn; it would indicate that it was time for them to start walking downstairs.

The summit was being held below ground, in a large room that Ash was sure used to be an arena. In the centre of the room would sit the Kanto Elite Four and around them in the 'stands' would everyone else sit. There was a seating chart apparently and Ash had only made one request to Lance regarding it – the Dragon Master had snorted at him and gave him 'do-I-look-stupid-to-you?" look.

They had been separated by what they were – Trainers, Breeders and Coordinators all sat together, while Gym Leaders sat with other region's Elite Four. The Professors, Researchers and Watchers also all sat together; each group would be given two microphones that were to be passed around to avoid everyone talking over one another. When someone had something to say there was a button on each chair, the face of who was talking, but also the list of who was to talk next would pop up on the big screen when someone pressed their button.

There would be 10 minute intervals where the groups could break off and talk to one another to come up with ideas and arguments against others. There was to be an hour lunch break at midday and it would finish at six – only to have the process repeated the next day if nothing was resolved. Ash had a feeling that they only needed the one day – unless the majority vote was different than what he anticipated.

He, Brock and Dawn were outside at Dawn's request and were laying out on the grass and soaking in the warm sunlight. Pikachu was dozing lightly while lying on Ash's stomach, his ears twitching every now and again. The group had finished breakfast about fifteen minutes ago and they were waiting for the alarm to go off ten to nine.

Most people were inside and there were a lot of people standing around the entrance hall, near the stairs to below ground. It was the quietest that the Plateau had been since they had arrived there, Dawn wasn't talking much, she had asked what was going to happen in the Summit the night before and Brock and Ash had explained it best they could, even though not having experienced one for themselves.

She had been cheerful in the morning, but Ash knew that she was nervous and slightly worried. While she was good, confident and through Ash and her own warm personality she knew a lot of people, Dawn was still out of her depth in this. Ash knew she would be disappointed that she wouldn't be joining him in Victory Road, but he wouldn't drag her into something of this nature.

He had been contemplating over who he would bring with him through Victory Road – Brock had already agreed before Ash had even asked him, Ash had asked him just to be sure and the answer had still been the same.

He wasn't taking Lance with him – which the Dragon Master didn't know yet and Ash looked forward to getting that weight off his shoulders when he finally did let his friend know. Lance probably wouldn't take it well, Ash was anticipating a black eye in his near future.

He knew another that he wanted to take – Tracey. As a Watcher and now as a Junior Researcher, his friend had a lot of experience, eagle eyes and he could draw extremely well, which would come in useful if anyone saw anything. Besides, Tracey was there on Shamouti with him.

Arguably his first encounter with Legendary Pokémon other than brief glimpses of Ho-oh in the sky, Tracey would vaguely know what to expect when it came to the danger factor.

Having in mind the two males plus himself, he decided that he needed a female to balance it out. His first thought had been of Misty; however there was no doubt in his mind that she wouldn't agree to go. They still had to confront the issues between them and on a potentially fatal mission in the middle of Victory Road, was not the time or place.

Besides – they weren't really 'anything', their relationship or lack thereof had no title, no distinction to it. She didn't owe him anything; there was no reason for her to risk her life and her Pokémon just because he asked it of her.

Dawn was out, as much as Ash respected her and believed in her abilities this wasn't something he wanted her to participate in. She was still young, one of the youngest at the Summit and while she had been on adventures with Ash, he doubted that they could compare to this.

He had thought of calling up May – but it probably meant waiting another week for her to get in from wherever she was and again, she was a Coordinator more than a Trainer. He didn't need the strengths of a Coordinator for this.

He had also thought about Cynthia, she would be video conferencing in with her Grandparents – the Elders of Celestic town, she could probably get here quicker than May and was the Champion of Sinnoh. After Lance and himself, she was arguably one of the strongest trainers in existence and also knew a great deal about Pokémon legends.

She was also level-headed and could remain calm under pressure, Agatha trusted her and even Lance listened to her on occasion.

Before he could ponder any more on the structure of his prospective team, the alarm for the walk-down sounded.

Dawn was up on her feet like a shot, Brock was slower and just sat up from his lying position. Ash stayed how he was and Pikachu not feeling his Master move, also stayed contently on Ash's stomach. Dawn called his name impatiently and he smiled, "slow it down Dawn – we have time."

She gaped at him and then at Brock who just grinned and shrugged, she huffed and stamped her foot before coming over to him. She blocked his sun briefly and then bent down to grab his hand, the intention to pull him up and if that failed, drag him to the doors of the Plateau was obvious.

Ash slowly stood up and moved out of her reach, "Dawn, we have time, and it won't matter about seats – remember we already know where we are sitting."

"But I like going in early, I want to see who is actually here and if we get in early we can sit and watch people come in!" Brock and Ash shared an amused look while Dawn just turned on her heel and marched off, "I'll see you inside!" She shouted back to them.

Ash debated whether or not he should lie back down, part of him hesitated because once he was in, that was it, the Summit would start and there would be no way out for his choice. He had already let Lance know that he would be going and the look of gratitude that his friend had given him was crushing. He didn't like what he was going to do to Lance, arguably a massive stab in the back.

Agatha had assured him that once Lance understood his reasons, his friend would forgive him. He would understand. Ash wasn't quite sure, he had sound reasons for not wanting Lance to go – things that to made sense to him and were backed up by Brock and Agatha. However, Ash going into Victory Road was Lance's idea, and Lance wasn't someone who enjoyed sitting around idly and waiting – which essentially was what he would be doing, waiting to see if and when Ash would come back out of Victory Road.

"We should probably go in; the second warning bell has just gone off." Brock spoke gently, Ash was grateful that Brock said nothing else; he grabbed his hoodie from the ground as he had been using it as a pillow. He shook off the grass and threw it on, while it was nice and warm outside it would probably be chillier underground.

The two were some of the last to go down the stairs; Ash was surprised to see Lance at the door watching everyone go in. His face relaxed when he saw Ash on the entrance landing, "thought I wasn't coming?" Ash teased gently while at the doorway.

Lance scoffed and pushed him through while counting out loud, "96 – 97."

"Quite a number," Brock whispered into his ear and Ash nodded while taking in the large room. The bright blue screen was directly opposite on the other side of the room waiting to be used.

He was standing behind where the Gym Leaders and Elite Four were sitting, on the left and around a bit was the Professor and Researcher seats. Ash would sit around on the right side with his designated group, so he made his way over there. Dawn was waving to them from their seats, they were sitting in the second row, the two excused themselves as people stood up to let them pass and get to their seats.

"About time!" Dawn said and handed Ash a microphone.

"Don't give that to me!" Ash said aghast and held the device like it was diseased.

He quickly threw it to Brock who caught it, "what am I going to do with it?" Brock asked offering it back to Ash who shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I don't know, and I don't care – if I have something to say I'll press the button. Until then, I don't want to see hide of hair of – ah!" There was a heavy jolt from the back of Ash's chair that had him lurching forward briefly, he turned around to see what had happened and then stopped. "Wha – Paul?"

The purple-haired young man was grinning and had his arms crossed, Ash let out a grin and moved his body around so he could offer a handshake, which his one-time rival took. "How long have you been here?" Ash asked surprised, "If I had known you were here," Ash started apologetically but Paul shook his head with a smile.

"It's alright – I've been here for a week, I arrived a few days before you did. I figured that you would probably be busy seeing everyone, so I waited and well – why waste this opportunity?" Paul asked and motioned with his feet again while Ash scoffed.

Brock and Paul shook hands while Dawn resolutely stared ahead, "not going to say 'hello' Dawn?" Paul asked sounding bored, Brock and Ash turned to look at her and while it made her blush, she didn't turn around.

"Hi," she said shortly and Paul smirked while Ash and Brock threw querying looks his way. Before they could ask what was going on, the lights dimmed and in the center of the arena a large tower starting rising. The entire room hushed and bright spotlights beamed into the tower, a top of which sat the Kanto Elite Four sitting around a large table.

The screen flickered on and the faces of Lance, Agatha, Bruno and Lorelei came into view, eventually the tower came to a halt and the room went into complete silence. There was a brief pause before Agatha stood up to address the crowd.

"Welcome everyone, to the third Pokémon Summit held on this day…"

As Agatha continued on with her welcoming speech and general housekeeping, Ash let his eyes wander around the stadium. He recognized all of the Gym Leaders and members of the Elite Four; they comprised the biggest group while the Professor's was the smallest.

Ash hadn't really had a look at who was here regarding Trainers and the like, he assumed that winners from the past were here and he had met many during the first few days he had arrived at the Plateau, most he had avoided after they had suggested a battle when he was better rested.

"…If anyone wishes to leave, now is your only time to do so. You have all been updated upon the rules and regulations and what follows. What to expect however, is entirely up to your imagination. Let it be understood that we are not here for a celebration, this is serious and what is about to said in this room cannot leave the Indigo Plateau. If anyone is found leaking this information they will banned from ever training or researching about Pokémon ever again."

There was silence again as Agatha finished speaking, she waited for a good minute to see if anyone was going to leave. When no- one made a move to leave, Agatha nodded briefly and sat back down in her stool, Lance stood up in her place and addressed the large group, "the reason we have called you here today is because we, the Kanto Elite Four, are in a situation that we cannot fix by ourselves."

"Most of the Professors know exactly why we are all here as we have previously asked for their council, we have also addressed prominent Doctors and Nurses all around the Kanto and outlying regions. No information or immediate plans to fix this issue have come to light, thus here you all are."

Lance cleared his throat "we ask, not only for your patience but for your compassion, ideas and any possible shred of information you may have in light of what is happening."

"C'mon get to the point," a touchy trainer in front of Ash murmured. Many around him nodded with him, but Ash noted they were all listening intently and none were daring to interrupt Lance. He turned to Brock who had raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to shoot Ash a look that said 'what-an-idiot.'

"Please direct your attention to the screen," Lance gestured behind him as the screen flicked twice and switched from a close-up of his face to what Ash recognized as one of the Graveler he had seen a few days before.

"What you are looking at is a dead Graveler found on the outskirts of Victory Road. While this is nothing out of the ordinary – if we zoom in…"

Lance pressed a few buttons on the table in front of him and it the screen zoomed in to show a few very fine white lines. "Originally we thought these were nothing; however further evidence, as you are about to see, showed that these fine lines here and here, are the beginning of something much more deadly and disturbing. "

Lance tapped another button on his screen, this time it was the other photo of a Graveler that Ash had seen, this time there were a few intakes of breath from the crowd. Lance stayed silent for a moment, allowing everyone to take in what was being displayed, "this is a week later – found around the same area, whatever is happening to the Pokémon has become more evident. "

Lance turned the slide off and the screen went blank, "the next series of pictures are extremely graphic and not for the faint of heart. If you find you cannot handle it we urge you to look away and we will inform you when the pictures are no longer in view. For those that do have the stomach to watch, these pictures are shown in a time period, you will notice as we go on – the original lines become deeper gouges and then eventually become more detailed. We have, with the Professor's help, likened them to an ancient sort of writing. Runes or symbols of a sort, if you have seen these before or have any possible information that you believe may help, please interrupt using the red button on your chair."

Lance paused again and then pressed the button. The minor uproar was exactly what Ash had been expecting, gasps, shrieks and yell's of "oh my gosh" were abundant. The impatient trainer in front of Ash had turned his head away and Dawn had buried her face into Brock's chest and he was giving her a one-armed hug and was looking away himself. Ash turned his head when Paul tapped him on the shoulder, "it's a bit of a jump isn't it?" He asked nodding to the pictures and Ash furrowed his brow, "what do you mean?"

Paul shrugged and whispered, "I mean, you go from a dead Graveler with just deep gouges, to a dead Zubat with that scratched into its organs. It just seems like there is a rather big gap in the timeline if you ask me."

Ash nodded and turned back to the screen, the photos that were being shown were the same one's that Lance had shown him a few nights ago, being too shocked by what he was seeing and by what Lance had told him, he hadn't thought about possible discrepancies. He had trusted Lance when he had said there was nothing else, he believed him – like Lance currently believed that Ash would bring him on his journey through Victory Road.

He mulled over it while Lance got to the last picture – the one of the Arcanine. The initial shock had worn off and now the room was just silent, there was an anxious tension in the room as the slide of the once magnificent creature left the screen.

Lance's face appeared once again on the screen looking grim and he notified everyone that they slideshow was over. There were a few whispers around as people discussed what they had just witnessed, the Kanto Elite Four gave the entire group fifteen minutes until Bruno stood up to address the crowd.

"As you have just seen, time is not on our side. The Arcanine was the last Pokémon that we have found-"

Bruno stopped speaking as an alert popped up on screen and the face of a Trainer popped up, Bruno nodded to the young woman in acknowledgement that she would be speaking next, and one of the microphones was passed over to her in anticipation.

"The Arcanine was the last Pokémon that we found and as you are no doubt all aware," Bruno continued, "Arcanine are not found near Victory Road – where we believe this has originated from."

More alerts went up as more people touched their red buttons asking more questions. "The Pokémon found have all behaved erratically and are the ones carving these symbols into their bodies with anything sharp they can find. How the Graveler managed it, we do not know. We know the Pokémon have been doing this to themselves because have video footage of the Arcanine scratching itself and behaving strangely, not eating and not reacting to being called. The only way it would sleep would be through inducement of anaesthesia."

Bruno stopped speaking and gestured to the first woman who pressed her button, flustered at having all the attention, the woman stood and Ash could see her hands shaking nervously, "I –is there any evidence to suggest that whatever is happening to these Pokémon here in Kanto, is also happening in other regions?"

Bruno shook his head, "as far as we know of no – unless the Professors or other members of the Elite Four wish to correct my answer?"

The screen panned around the other region's Elite and the Professor's, all of whom were either shaking their heads or had said no into a microphone. Bruno nodded at their answer and turned back to the trainer "No – there is not, however this…plague of sorts is moving. So, what you are suggesting could happen and it is something we would sincerely wish to avoid."

Satisfied, the trainer quickly sat down and tried to bury herself in her chair. Ash tried not to grin at her antics; her question was very valid and brought up some brand new ones as well. He pushed his button.

Brock looked at him surprised and Ash noticed that Lance sent a frown his way. The questions from other people continued and all were those that Ash had asked Lance when had first found out about what was happening.

Volkner, the Gym Leader from Sunyshore City stood up, "what makes you think that this…whatever it is… has originated from Victory Road?"

Ash drew in a deep breath quietly, it was something he and Brock had heavily debated and there was still no clear answer to it. It would be an angle that would be hard to play and it would be where Lance would need to be careful as far as convincing others that sending him into Victory Road would be potentially advantageous to them.

To Ash's surprise, it was Agatha who stood up to address Volkner's question, "we don't know if it has – all we know is that the majority of Pokémon found have been Pokémon commonly seen in Victory Road and their corpses found near the area." Agatha paused for a moment and Ash knew she was considering whether or not to display the image of the torso. "We have more images; however they are not of Pokémon."

Agatha's voice was stilted, "we debated whether or not to show you the image – as it is incredibly disturbing and there are some young trainers here." Volkner sat back down as Agatha continued her explanation, "after the Zubat had been found we made the decision to send in some of the Plateau's messengers to see what possibly could be happening. Two weeks after that, we found the Arcanine and still none of the messengers we had sent had come back and we couldn't get in contact with any of them. The Kanto Elite four held a meeting and partway through we were interrupted from the front gates, one of our messengers had finally returned from Victory Road."

Agatha moved her hands to the buttons that Lance had been pressing before and Ash nudged Brock who nodded and leaned down to whisper to Dawn. Ash looked at Lance who was looking rather shocked at Agatha's actions – as was the rest of the Elite Four, however none of them were stopping her.

"Again, this is extremely graphic. To be specific – a mutilated human corpse of one of the aforementioned messengers, this is how he came back." Agatha pressed the button and the dreaded torso came up on the screen, Ash looked around to see the varying reactions. After a few of the initial shrieks, people were much quieter as though they couldn't really believe what they were looking at. Many people – looked away, others seemed almost mesmerized.

Once the image on the screen flickered off the room went silent. There was a ten minute interval here, but no-one seemed to want to say anything to one another, Ash was next up to speak and while his question was out of the current relevancy, it would bring up some more questions, some that Ash should have asked a few nights ago before agreeing to Lance's request.

Ash didn't bother standing and accepted the proffered microphone from Brock next to him, "just rewinding slightly and building up what Yvonne said," the shy female trainer behind him blushed again at his mention of her, "there is no evidence to suggest that this… illness isn't spreading and yet an Arcanine was found – not near Victory Road?"

Lance was frowning at him, wondering where he was taking this and Agatha answered his question, "no, it was not found near Victory Road."

Ash nodded, "Arcanine evolve from Growlithe only with a Fire Stone as far as we are aware, which would mean finding an Arcanine in the wild is very rare." The entire room was silent as slowly he noticed a few people's eyes widen as they got where he was going. "What if this Arcanine was infected in Victory Road, but then due to its behaviour - was abandoned by its trainer wherever it was found?"

Ash let that sink in as many people finally started talking in between themselves, he passed the microphone back to Brock who passed the microphone back over his shoulder and leant in to whisper, "that's a good point."

Ash grinned, "no need to be so surprised" and leant away; Lance sent him a surreptitious thumbs-up. Ash looked over to the Professors and wasn't surprised to see most of them engaged in conversation. Professor Oak and Gary were both looking at him. Gary was appraising him and Professor Oak was smiling.

The Professor was arguably his biggest challenge in terms of getting into Victory Road, Oak was a good debater and was always calm and argued sound and justifiable reasons for doing or not doing something. He usually always managed to get people to follow and understand his point of view. It was why very few people knew that Oak was the reason Ash hadn't entered into Kanto yet, it wouldn't matter about the unfairness of it all. Oak held a very high standing in the Pokémon world and if he didn't want Ash to challenge Kanto, then almost no-one would nay-say him.

An alert on the big screen popped up and Professor Rowan's face came into view, he took the microphone offered to him from Professor Oak and stood up. "What Master Ketchum has just asked is very valid and brings up several other worries – one being that if this is true, it means that rumors could surface and panic could set in. We need to find out if what Master Ketchum has suggested is indeed true, we also need a plan to accommodate that. If people are experiencing this, or have experienced this with their Pokémon we need to find them."

Professor Rowan sat back down and Lance stood up, "essentially, what Professor Rowan is getting at, is that we need more information – which is why you are all here. Since no-one has come forward with any here, we have decided to reach out further." He gestured to the screen again and a large clock turned on. It read that it was ten to twelve, "we will be having a short break and will reconvene at one pm, at which we will all be video conferencing with Cynthia, Champion of Sinnoh. She has graciously ventured out of the Indigo Plateau to visit the Elders of Celestic Town.

Murmurs struck up again, there was no love lost between the League and the Elders and most people knew that to an extent. The mini history lesson that Agatha had given Ash the day before, information that Ash reckoned few people knew about. There was an understanding that the Elders didn't particularly like the League's, however due to their declining popularity and unbending, exclusive rules, they had no choice but to conform.

After so many years, it would no doubt be a bitter pill to swallow. Ash had met the Elders of Celestic town; they were Cynthia's grandparents and were very on-board with the League as a whole, especially since their granddaughter was the Sinnoh Champion. They had been very accommodating to him upon his arrival at their home and had treated him as they would any other, which he appreciated. They were also well versed in the History of many of the regions – Sinnoh in particular, but Ash supposed it was better asking the Elders than not doing anything.

While Ash had great respect for Cynthia's grandparents and did believe that they wouldn't do anything to harm the League, there was an undercurrent of doubt within him. He couldn't help but wonder if the Elders of other towns would use this information to damage the League's reputation.

Ash was jolted out of his thoughts as people around him started to move, people were exiting the underground arena to head to the dining area for lunch, "could we eat outside?" Dawn asked, her voice was a little shaky and her eyes were slightly red. Brock wrapped his arm around her as the group shuffled out of the doors towards the entrance hall, "sure thing, why don't you go find the sunniest spot and we'll get your lunch, what do you fancy?"

Dawn sent them both a grateful smile and told them what she wanted before heading out the doors, Brock and Ash joined the long line and quietly waited. "Lot of theories going around," Paul spoke as he came up behind them in the line.

"Anything interesting?" Brock asked as they moved forward slightly in the line, Paul shook his head and pointed over to where two trainers stood, "nothing really of substance. Those two reckon it's something to do with Team Rocket."

Ash and Brock both snorted, Team Rocket had been disbanded years ago and Jessie, James and Meowth had stopped following him everywhere once he had started his winning streak. The last Ash had heard was that Jessie was competing in Contests around the Sinnoh region with James and Meowth as her personal cheering squad.

Once the three had their trays piled high with food, the three men headed outside to find Dawn. She had found the sunniest spot and jumped up as the three made their way to her, she quickly took the second tray out of Brock's hands with a "thank you" and sat down to start eating.

The group was silent for a bit before Paul spoke up, "so what do you guys think of all this?" Brock and Ash exchanged glances and Dawn looked up at Paul who continued eating nonchalantly despite his loaded question.

"There's a lot to consider," Brock finally said slowly "First off, how and where all this started. Second, what is it exactly and third, how do we stop it? To be honest, looking at all the information we don't have – I'm surprised a Summit wasn't called sooner."

"And what with the League calling up the Elder's for help - that must sting a bit" Paul added conversationally while munching on his pie. Ash paused for a second wondering how carefully he should tread, fortunately Dawn got their before him.

"What do you mean 'sting?'" she asked curiously, it was the nicest she had been to Paul since he had found them, Ash made a mental note to ask both of them what was going on with that.

"The League and the Elder's don't get along; essentially the Elder's believe that the League usurped their power." Paul said briefly and took a long swig of his water. Dawn raised an eyebrow and turned to Brock for more clarification, "it's been a while, but Pokémon only used to be battled and trained by prominent members of Clans. You know that Lance is a member of the Blackthorn Clan? Well that Clan is specific to Dragon Pokémon and they have specific training methods and tricks for Dragon Pokémon."

Brock paused and munched on some of his side salad, "eventually people became disillusioned by the Clan system, which gave way to the idea of what is now the Pokémon League They didn't believe that one type of Pokémon belonged to one Clan and one Clan only, nor should Pokémon only exist for people with a specific birthright."

"But why would it sting for the League? What you've just said – I mean the League is a lot more influential now than the Elders and Clans, what bad could come out of asking for help – especially when it's something this serious?"

Ash could help but smile, Paul had rolled her eyes at Dawn's question – an action that Dawn caught and she stuck her tongue out at him. "The Clans are traditional," Brock said "they don't like it when something messes with their order."

"But it's been ages!" Dawn argued, "shouldn't they just get over it and try and do their collective best?"

Paul snorted loudly at that, "yes – if only it was that simple. I'm sure no one has ever thought of that before, Dawn." She turned a glare upon him and was about to open her mouth to argue back until the loud alarm sounded.

"Already?" Brock asked bewildered while looking down at his half-eaten food, Ash quickly stuffed the rest of his pie into his mouth and stood up, "something must have happened" he said spraying the ground with flakes of pastry.

"Gross Ash!" Dawn cried and stood up to get away from it. Ash swallowed quickly and ignored the heat of the pie going down his throat, "sorry Dawn – what time is it?"

Paul took out his Pokétch, "12.20" he said "we got out around 10 to 12 and then give us five minutes waiting in line, that's half an hour altogether and 25 minutes to eat."

The alarm sounded again, many people that were sitting outside were slowly picking up their trays and heading back inside, grumbling at the lack of time they had to enjoy their lunch. Their group of four picked up their trays and headed towards the door – Ash saw Agatha waiting by the doors and turned around –almost bumping into Paul.

"Sorry man – I think I dropped something, I'll meet you guys in there." Paul nodded and kept on walking; Ash headed back to where he had been sitting and pretended to look for something. When he was satisfied that everyone had left the area he headed back to the doors where Agatha was still waiting.

"Took your time Master Ketchum." She clucked her tongue twice in disapproval but Ash could see approval in her eyes.

"Sorry, I dropped something." He said while motioning behind him, in a direction that he was sure wasn't anywhere near where he had been siting.

"Must have been important," she said while eyeing his clothing distastefully before reaching out a hand and wiping off some of the blades of grass that stubbornly stuck to the fabric.

"Very," Ash said and once she was satisfied with his appearance she motioned inside. Ash nodded and followed her in, his hands going into the front pockets of his hoodie and clutching the note that she had left there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Dies*
> 
> Okay, I know – overdramatic much? It's not even my longest, but seriously, SUCH A HARD CHAPTER. So many people to think about...the next one is going to be just as difficult – if not more so (albeit - now that I have set it up - it's easier to go from there). Again, I ask for patience.
> 
> Yes I will agree, not a lot happens in this chapter, but it does set up a lot and there is some very obvious foreshadowing. In fact – calling it foreshadowing probably isn't correct.
> 
> And yes- before anyone lambasts me, I do know that the Bird trio / Lugia WERE NOT the first legendary Pokémon that Ash encountered. First came Ho-Oh, albeit briefly and it's not really an 'encounter' more of a blink-and-you'll-miss-me, but Mewtwo removed Ash's memories of their encounter –ergo in Ash's mind that event does not exist.
> 
> Will it be addressed…now that would be spoiling!
> 
> Again – many thanks to those that have reviewed, favorited, alerted and continue to do so, it really means a lot.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think.
> 
> Redenzione.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Summit, part 2

“Ash? Are you alright? You look awful!” Dawn leaned forward in her seat to see what Brock was talking about and gasped.

Her friend had no colour in his face and looked like he had aged ten years in five minutes. He seemed to be on the verge of either crying or being sick, “oh god – Ash you do look terrible, are you sure you’re alright?”

He nodded again, having already said that he was fine to Brock and explained to a worried Dawn and Paul that he was okay - it was probably just something he ate. Ash knew that while Dawn and Paul were possibly placated for now, Brock wasn’t.

His friend was staring at him, Dawn had sat back in her chair content with Ash’s explanation however, Ash knew that until he looked like himself again she wouldn’t be fully satisfied. Paul was a lot shrewder that most people gave him credit for and Ash didn’t want to risk giving Brock the note he was currently holding tightly in his fist without him seeing it.

How he wanted to though, the contents turned his stomach and he wondered how Agatha could stand it. When she gave it to him it was like there was nothing out of the ordinary, yet when he had read it he had almost collapsed to the floor. It had taken him about five minutes after reading it to regain full control of legs.

If he hadn’t been regretting saying yes to Lance’s request, he definitely was now. He let out an involuntary shiver and Brock leaned into him, “must have been some really bad meat.”

Ash cringed at Brock’s choice of words, “very bad.”

Brock nodded absently, “it’s funny how you, Paul and I all had the same pie and yet you were the only one affected?”

Ash took in a deep breath, “not really – and I’m sure Paul has come to the same conclusion.” It was a non-subtle warning which Brock took and leaned back while speaking loudly, “I told you not to eat that fast, this always happens.”

While he could appreciate the humor and Brock’s patience, Ash still couldn’t smile. He was seriously contemplating running from the Indigo Plateau and never looking back.

People around him were still grumbling about the short lunch break; there was a thrum of curiosity humming and everyone looked as interested as they were worried. Ash looked over to the other side of the room to see that Rowan and Oak were standing away from their seats and separated from everyone else. Ash had no doubt that they probably received a similar note to his, Rowan was whispering furiously and Oak looked about as old as Ash felt.

Ash eyes wandered and saw Gary looking at this grandfather with suspicion; Professor Oak obviously hadn’t let Gary in on the loop, a move that surprised Ash. He averted his eyes when Gary began to move back around to face the arena and continued looking around. His eyes caught a sliver of red and he found Misty, she was sitting next to Sabrina and Janine while also looking around the room. When her eyes grazed over his she did a double take and paused for a moment before lifting her hand up to wave hesitantly at him.

Ash lifted a hand back to her and he could see her frowning and mouthing words towards him, he leaned forward slightly and squinted to try and make out what she was saying, she tried to say something again but the lights in the center of the arena lit up and the tower started to rise again.

Ash leaned back with an apologetic gesture and Misty smiled at him before turning her attention to the Kanto Elite Four. Ash noted that Lorelei was looking like him – ill and upset. Agatha and Bruno remained stoic; it was Lance that shocked him the most.

He was sitting down, his hands clenched together and shaking. His face was white and contrasted sharply with his hair making him looking extremely tired and washed out; there was a red mark on his cheek which was forming a bruise of sorts. It looked like had been slapped recently and if Ash had to guess, it probably would have been Lorelei.

Tension’s were running high within the Kanto Elite Four it seemed, that meant that Lance was having a hard time convincing them that sending someone into Victory Road was a good idea. With the information he had just received, Ash didn’t blame Lorelei for what he assumed was her rejection of the idea, but it was getting to the point where something had to be done.

This latest piece of news was terrifying and there was no immediate fix, something needed to happen or someone needed to do whatever they could do. Ash had felt like this before, when he had been on Shamouti and he had been named as “The Chosen One,” he had been all full of youthful vigor and exuberance, nothing could have stopped him.

After a few hours, that enthusiasm to do something good had segued into fear and a loss of what to do entirely. This was different than the other times, all the other times he had faced off against Legendary Pokémon or been drawn into an over-the-top crazy adventure; he hadn’t had the time to think. He had just done, done what was expected of him and done what he was thrown into.

Hesitation had rarely been part of his make-up; however it had been a while since something of that nature had happened. A few times he wondered if Arceus had anything to do with that, if the Pokémon was looking over him in some way. 

This time it was different and it wasn’t just him being older. It was the high risk factor; it was the ‘plan factor.’ More often than not, in these circumstances Ash would willingly admit that luck had played a huge part in his adventures, sometimes he would think back and laugh to himself about what had happened and how he had managed to get out of the messes he’d been in.

He was to lead people this time, it wasn’t just his own life he was responsible for and more people would be watching him. The other times it had just been him and his companions, with the occasional friend met along during the journey. None of them had ever questioned his actions, his intent to do good or his decision making.

He was potentially going to be responsible for the lives of so many precious people and Pokémon, he would have advice and demands from every corner, and he would have to think of the consequences to his actions and the outcome of the League.

He was inherently saying yes to Lance’s request because to him it was the right thing to do. If he could help people in some way, sometimes the risk didn’t even factor into the equation for him. However, in this case ‘doing the right thing’ wasn’t all that was happening, there was a very real case of his entire life being turned upside down.

He was used to not knowing what to expect, going into something prepared was more alarming for him that it should have been. After what he had been through and some of the amazing things he had seen and done in his life, Ash should have felt more confident than he was.

Agatha stood up again to address the crowd, “thank you for all arriving here so quickly. We apologize for the extremely short lunch break, however due to certain circumstances we decided that we do not have any time to waste.”

She cleared her throat, “the reason for the shortness of your break was due to some highly disturbing news we received from the Tohjo Falls entrance to Victory Road.”

Ash could see Brock looking at him from out of his periphery and gently moved his head to one side, it wasn’t a direct nod but Brock got the idea and turned his attention back to Agatha.

Ash looked at Lance who was staring directly at him, Lance was looking worried and rightly so – this new information was a game-changer. Lance was looking at him for an answer to whether or not he would still be willing to take on the challenge.

“Another body of one of our messengers was found near the entrance,” there was a gasp as the news broke to the group. “As we’ve been asked to show no more of the images because it has disturbed many of you greatly, we also decided to give you no verbal details either. Take that as you will.”

Ash could see that Brock was struggling not to look at him or lean over, they were both very aware of who they sat around and who could see them. Ash already had a target on his back due to his association with Lance; he didn’t want to drag Brock into it.

There were many button presses all at once and many people scrambled for microphones, it was during this that Ash took his chance; he slid the folded square of paper out from his pocket and into Brock’s hand as secretly as he could.

Once he had it, Brock made a show of fiddling in his pockets pretending to draw out the paper; he unfolded it and read its contents like it wasn’t anything important.

“What’s that?” Dawn asked leaning over, Brock gently crumpled the paper into a small ball and shoved it back into his pockets, “a note – to remind Ash to call his Mom.” It was a credit to his friend that his face didn’t change, his voice was slightly higher pitched than normal as he gave his excuse to Dawn.

Thankfully, she didn’t suspect anything “-and he still forgot!” Was all she said before turning her attention back to the current speaker.

Brock slightly angled his head towards Ash and whispered as quietly as he could, “this changes things.”

Ash didn’t answer for a few seconds “not for me, but if you have changed your mind-”

“You’re still going?” Brock asked looking horrified, “Ash…this is – I – it’s beyond _anything_ that you have-”

“I’m going,” Ash interrupted and turned his eyes up to Brock’s to show how serious he was. “I have to.”

Brock shook his head, “you don’t _have_ to _do_ anything. You’re allowed a choice Ash, Champion or not – this isn’t in the job description! God, when you said you’d eaten some very bad meat…”

“If I don’t go then who will?”

Brock rolled his eyes, “Lance? He’s more than willing to go regardless of anything-”

“Brock, I’m not doing this to be hero, or for glory, or-”

“Ash,” Brock said with slight anguish in his voice, “I’m not saying that’s why you are going, or that you even need a reason to go. It’s who you are. I get that – if anything I’m the one who understands that the most. I’m just asking you to think a little more about this before you make any rash decisions.”

Ash rubbed his forehead and pinched the bridge of his nose, “that’s the point Brock. I don’t have time to think about it. If I think about it…” he trailed off and looked around at everyone in the room before turning back to Brock, “if I think about it then I’ll hesitate and this… I can’t hesitate with this. Not when the stakes are so high. I’ve always trusted in myself before Brock and I’m still standing.”

“Ash!” Brock let his name out in a frustrated hiss before stopping himself and closing his eyes to calm himself, “this isn’t about trusting fate or how lucky you have been. This is your life!”

He was imploring, but Ash still couldn’t change his mind despite Brock’s argument “yeah, you’re right.” Brock gave him a look that implied he was waiting for the ‘but.’

Ash finally let out a smile “but it’s also your life, Dawn’s life. Pikachu and your Crobat’s life, these Pokémon’s life. That messengers life.” He gestured down to the crumpled note in Brock’s pocket.

“This?” Brock gestured to his pocket, “this is...like cannibalism. The body of a messenger found with his body scratched open surrounded by his half eaten organs and dead Pokémon found over his corpse? Pokémon are not supposed to eat people!”

“No they’re not,” Ash grimaced at Brock’s more than accurate description of what the note held, “which is my point. Pokémon are not supposed to eat people, they are not meant to behave like this. It has to be fixed Brock. I have to fix it.”

Brock looked upset at Ash’s firm tone and his stubbornness, Ash smiled at his long time companion, “I’m not asking you to come with me Brock, in fact I don’t particularly wish for anyone to come-”

“If you honestly think I’m letting you go in there without me you have lost your mind!” Brock leaned away from Ash to face forward, his displeasure at the situation giving way to frustration and anger.

Ash decided to let him be for the moment, Brock was very rarely this angry with him or if he was, he hid it very well. It showed just how serious Brock was taking this news, they had thought everything that was happening was terrible, but to find that Pokémon had been eating human remains, it was more than a nightmare.

Ash looked for Lance, there was now some colour back in the Dragon Master’s face and he was listening to Professor Ivy talk about potential healing tests that the Professors had come up with in the small interim that they had.

Eventually, Lance realized that someone was looking at him and he cast his eyes out, once they fell on Ash the stoic look gave way to one of nervousness. Ash flickered his eyes to Brock briefly as a silent message, then he nodded his head and gave a thumbs up to show that he was still all go.

The relief that erupted onto Lance’s face made Ash feel both immensely guilty and pressured. He knew that Lance didn’t mean to pressure him into going, but just seeing that relief on Lance’s face and wondering what would have happened if he had said no was something he didn’t want to think about.

Once Professor Ivy had finished speaking, Lance stood up and directed the crowds gaze to the large screen behind him “thank you all for your input, it is greatly appreciated. Please look up at the screen here, Cynthia and the Elders from Celestic town should be appearing shortly.”

Lance fiddled with a few of the buttons on the front of the screen and immediately Cynthia’s face popped up onto the screen. She was sitting in front of a Laptop computer, Ash recognized the lounge behind her and the rather comfy couch he had slept on when he visited Celestic Town.

She greeted everyone and then followed that with an introduction to her grandparents, Cynthia moved away from the screen and then repositioned it to where three chairs were sitting, two were already filled and Cynthia sat in the last one.

“Thank you both for agreeing to stand in as representatives and take the time to help out the Kanto League. We are greatly in your debt.” Ash watched with mild surprised as Agatha bowed as deeply she could to the Elders in respect.

The two nodded their head back in acceptance and soon a wave of people stood up and bowed, the camera seemed to pan around the room and when it stopped on Ash he stood up and gave an awkward wave.

“Master Ketchum!” Cynthia’s grandfather perked up slightly and leaned in to look at the screen, “a pleasure to see you. Glad to see you look well – no please don’t bow. How have you been?”

Ash cleared his throat, keenly aware of all the eyes on him, “I’m doing well despite the circumstances, how are you Julian?”

“Fine, fine. I heard that you were in Sinnoh recently, I hope that after this nonsense has all been done with you will come back and visit us for a spell?”

“Grandpa!” Cynthia hissed, “this is not a social call.” The elder man waved his granddaughter away uncaringly,”phooey – if you had done as we asked I wouldn’t have to be doing this. Master Ketchum, my wife and I welcome you to stay with us anytime you are in the area.”

Ash tried to hold in his laughter, there were a few chuckles around him as Cynthia rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Thank you, I will definitely take you and Ursula up on that. Hello Ursula, good to see you as well.” Ash smiled at the elder woman who lifted a gnarled hand off her walking stick and waved to him.

Ash sat down as the camera started panning around again so that others could pay their respects to the Elders, when it came back to the center the camera pulled back so that it could show the room at large to the three in Celestic town.

“Now that we are all acquainted…” Lance sent a raised eyebrow towards Ash showing his amusement, “I assume that Cynthia has updated you upon all the latest information from the Indigo Plateau?”

The two nodded and Julian gestured over to Cynthia “Bunny, be a dear and grab us the third edition of-”

Her face flaming red from the use of her pet name, Cynthia shot up from her seat and walked out of the screen. Lance took this moment to turned his face away from the screen, his shoulders were shaking and Ash could see a large smile on his face. He was going to tease Cynthia into eternity with that pet name, when she returned Lance’s shoulders had stopped shaking but he was still smiling broadly, more than he should be in the circumstances.

She thrust the book towards her Grandfather with a little more force than was necessary, he gave her a reproachful look but took the offered book and opened it so that his wife could read it. Cynthia addressed Lance through the laptop, her eyes flashing a warning to him if he used her nickname, “I have updated my grandparents on everything that we know, as far as they are aware nothing of the sort has happened – or if it has they have never seen or heard of any documentation for it.”

“Then what’s the point of this voice conference?” The whiny Trainer from earlier muttered rather loudly. Ash resisted the urge to do what Paul did to him and instead shared a look with Brock; he smiled when he heard a mocking “what a moron” from Paul behind him.

“The point, young man, is to find potential answers - potential solutions to what is happening and bring together as many minds as possible, regardless of their age, to solve this situation.” Julian didn’t even bother looking up from his book to answer the trainer, the trainer went bright red at the gentle censure and bowed his head to try and hide himself from everyone.

“Ah – here it is!” Julian exclaimed and hefted up the book with the help of his wife. The two held the book up and Cynthia leaned over to have a look at what her grandparents were displaying and she almost toppled off her seat.

The camera zoomed into the book; it showed lines of symbols that were extremely similar to what was being displayed on the Pokémon and discarded bodies of the messengers. One in fact was the exact copy of what was on the Arcanine and the messenger. Whispers broke out and many people started discussing between themselves, the camera zoomed out again to show the faces of Cynthia, Ursula and Julian.

Julian was placing the book on Ursula’s lap and Cynthia was fetching her grandmothers glasses, once she had them perched on her nose Ursula addressed the group, “according to this-” she tapped the book with one finger, “these ‘runes’ are in fact an ancient language – scholars have likened it to our Cuneiform.”

“’Likened’ it to our Cuneiform? So what – it’s older?” Cynthia asked as she started taking photos of the book, “Agatha, I’ll be sending these through so everyone can have a better look.” She added absently, still clicking away.

“Much older,” Ursula continued and pushed up her glasses. “These were found in the 1800’s in Mt Coronet by a team known as ‘Akagi.’ Of course, back then they didn’t have the technology we do now to try and figure it out – but it says that this script was found on a medium size tablet of rock and taken back to…Sunyshore city to examine.”

There was a movement as all eyes fell on Volkner, Leader of the Sunyshore Gym. He looked unimpressed and apathetic, “I have never seen or heard of anything like that in my life, nor have I seen anything like that in Sunyshore.” He spoke slowly into the microphone that was placed in front of him by his long time friend Flint, a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four.

Someone’s button was pressed and people turned to look at Professor Oak, Ash readied himself – if he was going to get himself into Victory Road, then this was going to be the person to convince and since he had trouble with that of late, Ash needed every opportunity he could get.

The Professor stood up, “so if this is indeed the same…language as what we are currently seeing on the afflicted Pokémon, how is it that while our first possible recorded encounter with this language was found in Sinnoh, yet now we have these events in Kanto?”

It was a good point and it spoke volumes about Professor Oak’s experience – that he was looking for not only the root source, but also the origin of this language to use as a possible foundation for information.

Ursula shrugged, “this book is the only one we have that displays anything this similar to what we have been shown. Because this tablet was found much earlier than any of us were born and is now presumably disappeared from Sunyshore’s possession, we have no way to find answers to your questions.”

“But surely, through evolution alone there will be a link to another form of language – you mentioned Cuneiform-”

“The book likens this to Cuneiform,” Ursula briefly interrupted Professor Oak, “not that it is Cuneiform.”

“-Yes, but even so our languages have evolved over many years, starting off with symbols such as this,” he gestured to the screen, “into what we have now.” Surely, there must be some examples of our language evolution similar to this so that we can put together some form of translation?”

There came a quiet chuckle from the screen, “you misunderstand me Professor Oak.” Ursula spoke matter-of-factly, staring at him over her glasses through the camera. “I never specified that this was a human language.”

The whole room came to a halt as that little tidbit sunk in, the Professor floundered for a moment. “Do you mean to say that you think this is a…Pokémon language?”

“I don’t understand why you’re so surprised? A Professor such as yourself, discoveries such as these should be common. Not long ago we didn’t know of Pokémon eggs; what we never experience or never see we remain ignorant of. The Unknown - how are we to know that they didn’t just manifest as a result due to our creation of the current form of language? These are questions that we have no answers to, however because there is no current need to answer to them, we remain in blissful ignorance.”

Ash could help but feel a supreme amount of satisfaction as Ursula debated rather well against Professor Oak, she was arguing a basic point that everyone needed to realize. Without information they would continue to remain in the dark about what was happening, they needed facts and fast. One way was continuing research into the tablet and the study of the assumed Pokémon language. Ash was sure that it was something everyone was more than happy to continue with, while others were doing that; he intended to be scoping out the situation in Victory Road.

“There is no evidence to suggest that this is a Pokémon language-” Professor Rowan stood, seemingly in support of Professor Oak. Cynthia turned her attention from the book to send an annoyed look their way, “there is nothing to suggest that it’s not a Pokémon language either.”

Professor Rowan and Cynthia began bickering with each other through the screen and everyone in the arena took the time to talk amongst themselves. Ash looked to the Kanto Elite Four and found them all in discussion. Lorelei was shaking her head and Lance was turning away, he caught Ash’s eye and shrugged his shoulders.

“A Pokémon language? Seems a bit iffy if you ask me,” Paul leaned forward and rested his chin on Ash’s chair. Brock shook his head, “not necessarily. You remember Meowth from Team Rocket? Well that’s a special case, but if a Pokémon can learn our language then there is no reason to think that they don’t one of their own.”

“Yeah, but writing it down?” Paul asked skeptically, “and there is only the one tablet? Seemingly disappeared without a trace? Sounds like a hoax if you asked me.”

Once Paul had sat back in seat Ash pondered over what had possibly just been revealed, he looked over to the left of him to see Volkner being hounded by those around him. He was sitting there silently with his arms crossed, refusing to answer any more questions and Ash felt for him, he wasn’t even born when that tablet was found and back then it was the Clans that had the most influence. Volkner wasn’t part of a Clan, nor did he have any vested interest in old artifacts.

“Agatha, I’m sending through these photos through now.” Ash drew himself out of his musings to take a look at the images that Cynthia sent through. Rowan and Cynthia it seemed had met an impasse, Rowan had returned to his seat and everyone was now focusing on the screen in front of them.

As they flickered onto the screen Ash racked his brain for any similarities, they were almost exact replicas of what he had been seeing on the Pokémon, that much was clear. Nothing came to him until he reached the second to last one; he immediately pressed his button and stood up.

He could hear the shuffles of people moving to look at him and Brock calling his name questioningly. “Please, could you switch back to that last photo?” Ash asked absently, hoping that what he had just seen wasn’t real.

Lance gave him a worried look and slowly switched the photo back, Ash took it in and he could feel his heart sink and his throat tighten up. He felt Brock rise next to him and Dawn’s whisper of “oh my god,” he was glad he wasn’t the only one that got it – if he was he would have a hard time explaining himself.

“Master Ketchum,” Agatha spoke his title sharply, “if you have any information we would be grateful to hear it.”

He could hear the anger in her voice, like she thought he had been hiding things. If he had seen this before he definitely would have told someone. He opened his mouth to speak but found that he couldn’t, his throat was dry and scratchy and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Master Ketchum!”

Ash kept his eyes shut as he talked; he could feel the derision and suspicion pouring out from the eyes of nearly everybody as he gave his explanation. His hands were shaking and as he blurted out what he had promised never to reveal, he could feel the white hot sting of betrayal flood down his spine. He wanted to cry, he wanted to curl into a ball and never come out of it.

There was silence once he had finished, he half expected to be struck down the moment he stopped talking and be turned into dust.

“You’ve seen Arceus?” Ash opened his eyes and looked towards the screen. Cynthia was looking at him with wonder. Her grandparents were smiling at him and nodding, he could hear Julian say “I’m not surprised.”

Ash looked around; there was a large degree of skepticism coming from many people – mostly those from Hoenn and Johto. Ash supposed that those from Sinnoh wanted to believe in this god-like creature that came from their myths, and those in Kanto probably didn’t know what to believe in anymore.

Ash took a quick glance towards Lance, he was looking nervously round at everyone and Agatha was staring at him intently. He cleared his throat and addressed Cynthia, “yeah –I’ve met Arceus.”

“Arceus is a myth.” Professor Ivy said sharply from the other side of the arena.

“Then how come I’ve seen him?” Ash challenged to which he received a taken aback look from the Professor.

“I’ve seen him as well,” Ash felt his knees buckle slightly as Brock stood up with Dawn not too far behind claiming her sighting of the Legendary Pokémon.

“You are meant to report any sightings you see of Legendary Pokémon, I wonder as to why you have not yet done so…up until now.”

Ash rolled his eyes at the biting tone, “oh I don’t know, maybe because Arceus is meant to be the creator of the Pokémon world? When you meet a Pokémon with that much significance you don’t really want to anger him, so when he asks you not to tell anybody – you don’t tell anybody!”

Professor Ivy didn’t take to well to his sass and stood up, her argument was cut off by Agatha, who spoke softly but had an edge of steel in her tone. “As interesting as I’m sure your opinions are Professor, you are currently not taking care with regards to our rules. Master Ketchum has pressed his button and is still speaking, please allow him to finish until you give us your point of view.”

“I’m sure if _Master_ Ketchum had anything of actual fact to say and not just fanciful myths, then no one would have to interrupt his nonsense.”

There was a hush of silence, Professor Ivy’s sarcasm around his title was an insult, like she was almost questioning whether he deserved it or not. Ash noticed that Agatha was clutching onto Lance’s wrist. The Dragon Master had stood up the minute she had said his title in such a derisive tone.

Ash let out a smirk, “how many legendary Pokémon have you encountered Professor Ivy? As you are well aware of my history, you do know how many I have seen – all of which I have reported. Professor Oak can testify to that.”

Professor Oak, surprised at being mentioned and being joined into the argument, stuttered a bit before nodding and backing up Ash’s claims.

Ash nodded, “I think I know a Legendary Pokémon when I see one, one doesn’t just say they’ve met Arceus. Besides, I was with Brock and Dawn when I saw Arceus and they’ve already backed up my claim with their own.”

“Anybody can lie,” Ivy responded with a sniff of her nose, “especially friends. If you had seen Arceus before and you are connecting _that_ symbol with the legendary Pokémon, why are you only telling everybody now? Why did you not let everyone know the minute you got to the Plateau?”

“Because I hadn’t seen this symbol until about five minutes ago – when everybody did! I can’t connect two things together until I’ve seen and know of them both!”

“Professor Ivy-” Oak tried to intervene, no doubt to try and salvage the situation, but the woman cut him off rudely with a swipe of her hand.

“Really? So just based on this image and your ‘meeting’ with Arceus, you are claiming that that symbol is representative of that Pokémon?”

Ash paused for a long moment; just at the moment where Professor Ivy looked satisfied that she had won the argument he spoke up, “Cynthia – you or the Elders wouldn’t happen to have an image of Arceus would you?”

There was a shuffling from the screen as the three family members did their best to rummage up a picture of the legendary Pokémon. Professor Ivy had scoffed was tapping her foot impatiently as they all waited for the picture to show up, Ash could feel his heart racing – if he was proved right, which he knew he was, it would help immensely with his goal to get into Victory Road.

“Got it!” Julian sang out loudly, Ash turned to the screen as Cynthia quickly whipped it out of her Grandfather’s hand, her eyes widened and she looked up at the laptop to lock eyes with Ash. She smiled at him and he nodded at her, she could see it as well.

“I’m sending it through now,” she said with a shake in her tone. There was an anxious tension within the arena as they all waited to see who was right and who was wrong. Once Lance had received it, he took a preliminary look at image on the screen in front of him and then looked up at Ash; he let out a grin and then pressed one of the buttons to put the picture up onto the big screen.

“Have a look at that image of Arceus and tell me that you don’t see it?” Ash asked.

Which she couldn’t do and he knew it. The cross-like wheel that wrapped around Arceus’ body was exactly the same as the symbol that had previously been up there. There was no mistaking it and Ash couldn’t help but feel slightly vindicated; Professor Ivy had sat down, her argument now completely invalid.

Ash followed suit and looked around, another interval was going on and everyone in the arena was talking. Lance and rest of the Kanto Elite Four were discussing with Cynthia, Julian and Ursula; Dawn was regaling people about her adventure with Arceus. Ash didn’t have the heart to tell her that she probably shouldn’t, Arceus had asked him to keep his existence a secret and Ash had just thrown that completely out the window.

It took a while, but eventually the Kanto Elite Four turned back around to address the crowd at large, there was a current in the air, people were still whispering and wondering what was going to happen next.

Lance addressed the crowd and summarized all the information they had and what action they were going to take with what they had. The Professors were going to split their group, half were going to look into a possible treatment for the afflicted Pokémon and the other half going to study this new language.

The Gym Leaders and Elite Four were going to look into the history of their towns and regions. As a result from the surprising information regarding Sunyshore City, no one wanted to take anything for granted. The Trainers were all to be split up and sent to various libraries and museums throughout the four regions to expand the research mission.

There was slight applause from the crowd showing that they all agreed with this course of action to take, Lance raised a hand for quiet. “We have another idea - a rather radical one. We propose we send a team into Victory Road. A team of about four people from this room.”

There was an instant uproar and many people looked around in shock, others had stood up to voice their protests. After a few minutes Lance addressed the quieting crowd again, “are you protesting the idea of sending someone into Victory Road because of the danger factor, or because none of you want to be the ones to go in?”

Ash sighed at Lance’s lack of tact, the Dragon Master had a point and many people, blustery though they still were, backed down almost immediately. Lance nodded with satisfaction, “now – are there any volunteers?”

“Lance!” Agatha couldn’t hold in the hiss of the Dragon Master’s name and he shrugged at her. Ash rolled his eyes at their bickering – it really wasn’t the time.

“This isn’t a simple matter Master Lance,” Julian spoke up from the screen, “what you are asking is potentially life-threatening and as it has been noted many times – we simply do not know what we are dealing with.”

“Exactly, but sitting here talking about the ‘what-ifs’ and the ‘potential something or rather’ isn’t going to get us anywhere. The time for talking is over; it’s all we’ve done for months and we have nothing to show for it. We need action – we need something to happen.”

“I wouldn’t call the discovery of a Pokémon language ‘nothing’ Lance,” Cynthia spoke up tersely. Lance raised an eyebrow at her, “can you read it?”

The glare she sent him made Ash recoil in his seat slightly, Lance turned back to the crowd satisfied with Cynthia’s lack of response. He had obviously been on the receiving side of that glare more than once. “I’m not saying people have to volunteer for it –I do know of the dangers, in fact I am fully prepared to be one of the four within this team. However, as a member of the Kanto Elite Four I am not allowed to be designated as the Leader of a mission.” Ash didn’t miss the disgruntled look Lance threw over his shoulder to an uncaring Agatha.

“I know it’s an easy thing for someone like me to say, but I need to believe that there are answers and I know that you all care about Pokémon as much as I do – you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. I don’t want to see anything like this again and I won’t rest until I exhaust every corner of the world to find answers.”

There was a silence and Ash could see that even Agatha looked shocked by Lance’s imploring speech. His head was bowed and he looked like he was pleading with those in the room.

For a split second Ash wondered if it was all part of Lance’s ploy to get people’s sympathy, to get people to agree to this idea. He waited to see if Lance would raise his head to look at him and when he didn’t Ash decided that he didn’t care about his friends motivations or whether he was acting or not. He was sick of being in the room and sick of talking about what could possibly happen.

He grabbed the microphone from Brock and stood up before he could psych himself out any further, “I’ll go.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it’s been a while and hopefully not too many of you have to re-read to get a grasp of what has happened up till now.   
> The reason this chapter has taken longer? Well – first off it took me a while to get this chapter to where it needed to be, I ended up changing a lot and moving pieces about and switching direction. This part (Ash getting into Victory Road) is taking longer than I expected, but good things do take time and I’m adding in some new pieces that will hopefully make this story more exciting and more emotional down the line a bit.
> 
> Second: I went on holiday for a week! Yay me!
> 
> Third: Earthquakes. I live in NZ and as some of you may be aware, we’ve had a couple of biggish jolts –meaning that I was out of my building for work for three days (which meant I had TONNES to catch up when I got back.) The earthquakes have, as of now, caused no major significant damage that I’m aware off, but being in Wellington, running along major fault lines – we’re not in a particularly safe area. Our buildings are built to extremely strong code, but after what happened with Christchurch…well…
> 
> Fourth: I have a BETA! Many thanks to Auramaster for saying yes to my request. I sent him this chapter two weeks ago; he still hasn’t got back to me. (If you are reading this – I do hope you are okay!?) I figured it’s been about two months in between this and the last chapter and I really don’t want to lose my mojo, so I’ll keep trucking and edit as best as I can. 
> 
> Auramaster – I’m figuring you’re probably extremely busy or something happened? Or maybe your just not interested anymore – which either way is all good!  So I’m just going ahead and posting regardless. I’m very impatient and I’m losing my rhythm for this story (never good.)
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and given me their thoughts, hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think.
> 
> P.S: For those interested, I promise – next chapter you will know exactly who is in Ash’s team!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash prepares to leave for Victory Road.

Ash winced as he ran a damp cloth over the crusted blood that had dried around his eye. A black eye and a cut above his eyebrow notwithstanding, Ash figured he had got off pretty lightly all things considered.

Ash had anticipated that Lance was not going to take his ‘choice of team’ well. The crushing guilt he had felt when he had spun those dials was something he could probably never explain to Lance – and even if he could, he was sure that Lance wouldn’t understand it fully.

He rinsed off the cloth and squeezed out the excess water before shuffling out of the bathroom and back to his shared room. Brock was currently trying to placate his younger brother – who hadn’t like the idea of Brock entering Victory Road with Ash. If Brock hadn’t managed to get in front of him when he did, Ash would probably be sporting two black eyes instead of one.

Forrest, on some level, had probably always resented Ash. The young man had had his Brother, his only constant for so long, ripped away from by some young upstart with the same ‘unreachable’ dreams as everyone else. Albeit, Forrest was an extremely capable Trainer and Gym Leader and as much as Brock had been their parental figure and deserved a chance to do what he wanted, so did Forrest.

Ash figured he deserved as much as Forrest’s frustration and anger as Flint and Lola did, but he wouldn’t retract his offer to Brock. Once Forrest calmed down enough to not want Ash’s face to meet one of his rock-solid fists, then maybe he would explain his choice to Forrest and hope that the young man would understand more than Lance ever would.

Ash sat down on his bed and gently rubbed Pikachu’s back. His Pokémon had been cooped up for most of the day, Pokémon were not allowed in the Summit and Ash didn’t want to risk anything happening to Pikachu – especially with them being so close to Victory Road, so he had locked the door with Pikachu inside it.

He had received a large jolt for his troubles on his return to his room and had then been ignored for the rest of the evening. Ash had taken it in stride, as much as he had received black looks from friends of his, Gary Oak in particular, and claps on the back in appreciation from most others – it was the worried looks that he had received from Agatha, Professor Oak, Paul and Misty that had disturbed him the most.

Agatha’s had been understandable – she knew what was to come what with the potential breakdown of his and Lance’s friendship. Professor Oak, again not so surprising, despite his aversion to Ash re-entering the Kanto League, Ash know the Professor still cared a great deal about him. It was his lack of debate that puzzled Ash the most, why the Professor would fight so hard to keep him from entering the Kanto League, yet let him go on his merry way in to Victory Road at a time like this was bizarre.

Paul had shot him a worried look and had then proceeded to stare intently at Dawn with the same look for a good few minutes. Dawn had apparently sent Ash an extremely wounded look when the final wheel had been spun and his team was chosen. At the time he had been too focused on Lance to worry about anyone else, Dawn wasn’t talking to him and was holed up in her room – again another talk he would be having in the near future.

He forced himself not to think of Misty as he let the damp cloth fall to the floor beside his bed, he didn’t want to overanalyze what she could have been thinking, or what it might have meant by her watery eyes and extremely stricken look.

Ash tried not to jostle Pikachu too much as he pulled back the sheets and hopped into bed, he let out a sigh of contentment once he had fully relaxed and let himself drift off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

**_Flashback to a few hours ago…_ **

“I’ll go.”

The minute he had spoken those two little words he wished he hadn’t. He could feel a lump in his throat and taste the bile coming up.

Things were about to change, he kept his eyes on Lance’s bowed head and could see Agatha looking between the both of them out of his periphery vision.

You could have heard a pin drop after his declaration, the weight of the stares on him was heavy. Ash knew there would be people who looked grateful, others that looked suspicious. He was trying to avoid certain gazes, but he couldn’t help meet Professor Oak’s eyes, filled with painful resignation, with his own willful defiance.

He refused to look at Misty.

Cynthia and her Grandparents were smiling at him proudly while Agatha was unreadable – he knew a million thoughts must be going through her mind of all the possible outcomes.

Lorelei was one of the few that looked relieved and Bruno was full of suspicion, he was looking between him and Lance as through trying read their minds. Lance still hadn’t raised his head, so Ash couldn’t gauge his reaction.

“Ash! What are you doing?” Dawn hissed at him, her tone was urgent and he knew she was extremely worried for him. He hadn’t told her about any of this and for good reason; he continued to ignore her while she reached over Brock to tug at his hoodie sleeve.

Ash waited for something to happen, he and Lance had talked about potential possibilities – who and what would stop them from achieving their goal.

No one was saying anything; they all seemed to be waiting for Lance. It seemed that the time for talking was indeed over.

“Is there any reason,” Lance began, he sounded hoarse and his head was still bent, “for anyone to suggest that Master Ash Ketchum should not take on this mission?”

Again there was silence, Dawn was shifting in her seat and looking back and forth at him and Brock wondering what was going on. Brock was holding her hand and had shaken his head at her when she had tried to stand up.

“Master Ash Ketchum, do you fully understand what it is you are volunteering for?” Lance finally raised his head to look directly at Ash.

Ash was momentarily taken aback by what he saw; Lance looked like he hated what he was doing, there was no triumph in his face, only tired acceptance.

Through all this, Ash had forgotten how much of a friend he was to Lance. Sometimes it was hard to separate the Dragon Master from Lance and then again from the Champion. He seemed to be three separate entities at any one point in time.

While Ash was not doing this for any other reason other than having to fix an enormous problem, Ash realized he had lost sight of why Lance was doing all of this. He had been drawn into the politics, the structure; he had let people override his faith.

“I do,” Ash looked at Lance directly in the eyes, but he didn’t bother hiding the shake in his voice.

Ash knew that Lance was no doubt mistaking the heaviness in his voice, it was not frustration nor resignation, it was the inevitable back-stabbing and the fear that Lance would never understand.

Ash didn’t have very many close friends, especially those that he kept in contact with on a regular basis. Travelling a lot made it more difficult than it should be; it also meant that more people would know where he was at any point, Ash like the anonymity of his journey. It was hard enough being the Three Region Champion; if more people knew where he was he would always be sought out.

The precious few friends he did have, Ash wanted to keep them for as long as he could. He was pretty sure he may lose a few over the next couple of days. Or at least, his relationship with them would change.

Ash squared his shoulders and pushed those thoughts to the back of mind and addressed Lance again, “I do, however, have two conditions.” Ash noticed Agatha’s small smile and a few people started whispering shocked at his audacity.

Lance himself had raised an eyebrow, “name them.”

“First, I want my Mother here at the Plateau. I’m not leaving here till she is safe and settled in with your promise that she will be protected and never threatened with expulsion.”

Whatever apprehension that had been in Lance’s face had now vanished, there was genuine amusement there now and a touch of respect.

“Done – and your second condition?”

“I expect to see this in writing.”

“A contract will be written up for all parties to sign outlining everything in detail. You will be expected to read over and agree to it, you will not be going anywhere until you sign it. What’s your second condition Master Ketchum?”

“I want to choose my own team for this mission; I would also like to ask privately. “There was a tense silence following that condition and many people looked around nervously, hoping not to catch Ash’s eye lest they be chosen. Lance opened his mouth to speak but Ash quickly cut him off, “whether they choose to go or not is entirely up to them – but some anonymity would be preferred. If whomever I ask choose not to go, I don’t want any negative comments to fall on them. No one should have to know but myself and the people I ask.”

Lance paused for a moment and then turned back to look at Agatha, at length she stood up and addressed Ash. “Master Ketchum, as much as we understand your desire for privacy we cannot allow it. We will allow you to choose your own team, however it must be done in front of everyone present – allowing for second votes and for everyone to express their opinion.”

Her voice was light, but Ash detected a hidden note underneath her explanation. He decided not to push his luck and bowed his head slightly in acceptance. Agatha accepted his nod with one of her own before addressing the crowd at large, “as you have all heard – Master Ash Ketchum will be our Leader for this mission, he will be choosing his team shortly-”

An alert went up and Agatha stopped in surprise, many people looked around for the source of the button press, Ash was not surprised to find that Professor Oak was standing up – not many people would interrupt Agatha so abruptly.

He cleared his throat, “while most of us can all agree that there is no finer candidate than Master Ketchum to take on this mission, I must question the haste in choosing a team, doing it now is very abrupt and not very fair. Many of us are still getting used to the situation at hand, adding on the top of that the pressure of going into Victory Road. One also has to assume that Master Ketchum has not thought of a full team yet, he will need to think long and hard about who he will choose.”

To Ash’s surprise, it was Agatha that came to his defense. “Thank you for that perspective Professor Oak, however as you yourself have said – there is no finer candidate than Master Ketchum. One would imagine that in having done and seen so many amazing things, that you have heard about firsthand, Master Ketchum would know exactly who he would want to join him on such an undertaking.”

Ash bit the inside of his cheek, her tone was dry and slightly scathing and it made him want to give her a high five. Professor Oak tried to speak again, but Agatha interrupted quickly “and as we are all well aware, time is of the utmost essence. If Master Ketchum has a team in mind – then I would suggest we all brace ourselves and get on with it. If there is a majority vote for more time, we will suggest a suitable timeframe.”

Ash and Lance shared a subtle grin with one another, grateful to have Agatha on their side and her bulldozing nature. Professor Oak had sat back down, he looked resigned and disappointed with the situation; he had turned to look at Ash who refused to meet his eyes.

In the end there had been no vote despite Agatha calling for one, people had just murmured amongst themselves and none had raised their hands for or against. While this had been happening, Ash had made his way around the seating in the arena; he stood at the bottom of stairs they had walked down when they came in. His back was towards the Gym Leaders and members of the Elite and he looked forward to the Kanto Elite Four in the centre of the room.

He could see Cynthia fluffing around in the screen above making tea for her Grandparents, both of whom were smiling and urging him on with waves of their fists. They would be disconnected shortly with the group as the screen would be used to display

“Ash Ketchum, please step forward onto the platform when it stops in front of you.” Ash nodded to show he understood Lance’s instructions and slowly the platform came into view. One it had stopped Ash stepped onto it and a hushed silence came over the arena again.

“Before you are three dials, these dials correspond with every registered Trainer, Coordinator, Gym Leader, Professor and Elite Four Member in the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh regions. When you are ready please use the dials to find and pick members of your prospective team.” Ash nodded to show that he understood the instructions.

Lorelei addressed the crowd, “once Master Ketchum has chosen – that person’s face and details will show up on the screen behind me. Master Ketchum’s choice must be seconded and by someone other than the Kanto Elite and the person in question. Once seconded, that person will be asked whether or not they will to join Master Ketchum.”

By the tone of her voice alone, it went without saying that should anyone be heckled or be sent any negative comments upon their refusal to join Ash, there would be consequences.

“Master Ketchum, when you are ready.”

* * *

 

 

“Ash – wake up”

It took a while for Ash to stir, but eventually he did manage to crack open the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut.

He could see Brock smiling at him and holding out water and aspirin, Ash took the water and medicine with a croaky ‘thank you’. As Ash leaned on the wall his bed was against, he closed his open eye and tried to ignore the thrumming pain in his head and around his eye. He could hear water rushing in the adjacent bathroom followed by Brock’s soft footsteps.

“Here, you still have some blood on your face.” Brock offered him a wet cloth which Ash took gratefully. “Thank’s man, how’s Forrest?”

Brock didn’t speak while he made-up his bed and when he was done he sat down on the bed and let out a heavy sigh, one side of Ash’s mouth quirked up, “that bad, huh?”

There was silence between the two for a moment before Ash spoke up “I won’t insult you by telling you that you shouldn’t come,” Brock let out a tired smile, “but he’s your brother.”

“We are still on speaking terms Ash, besides it’s not me I’m worried about. It’s you.”

Ash chuckled, “what’s one more black eye?”

Brock shook his head, “that’s not funny – you’re about to do something extremely dangerous and all people seem to want to do is either resent or laud you for it.”

Ash shrugged, “it comes with the territory. I got the same kind of reaction when I became the ‘Three Region Champion’ – remember?”

“This is different,” Brock gave him a hard look, “people are forgetting what exactly you volunteered for, this isn’t going to be a walk in the park just because you’re the Champion.”

Ash eyed his friend for a few seconds, “Brock, if you are seriously having doubts you gotta tell me-”

“I’m not-”

Brock was interrupted by a knock on the door, they were both surprised and Brock got up to answer the door.

“What are you doing here?” Ash had been leaning his head back against the wall to rest, but at Brock’s incredulity at who was on the other side of the door he leaned forward to have a look, “who is it?”

Brock stepped back warily and let the person step though, to Ash’s immense surprise it was Forrest looking mulish and like he wanted to be anywhere else.

“Forrest!” Ash ripped the blankets off himself and got up, “hey, I was going to come and find-whoa!” With dizziness overcoming him, Ash fell back on the bed almost falling onto a still dozing Pikachu.

“Ash!” Brock immediately went to his friend who was sitting on the bed and put his head between his legs, “it’s alright Brock – really. I just forgot how hard Lance can punch. Seriously, I’ll be alright in a minute.”

Brock pulled back from Ash and turned to look at Forrest who was doing a very bad job of hiding his satisfied smiled. “You find this funny?” Brock asked angrily to his little brother who immediately stopped smirking and glowered at Brock.

“It’s alright Brock, it is a little funny.” Ash tried to placate the him but Brock wasn’t having it.

“It’s funny to watch someone in pain? Your Champion nonetheless?”

Forrest muttered something quietly that neither Brock nor Ash could hear it, although Ash assumed it wasn’t something that he wanted to hear. “What was that?” Brock asked.

Forrest set his jaw and looked his brother straight in the eye, “I said: He’s not _my_ Champion.”

There was a tense silence between the two and Ash noticed that Brock was clenching and unclenching his fists, a noticeable sign that he was trying to hold in his anger. There was nothing that Brock could say to that, Ash wasn’t the Champion of Kanto in fact he had no official title within the Kanto region. Most people didn’t know that they needn’t call him ‘Master’ while he was in Kanto; it was only when he was in Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh that his titles counted.

However, because of the respect that the Kanto Elite Four gave to him, it had become more or less a habit for most people.

Ash stood up and made his way over to the brothers, “It’s alright, Brock-”

“He’s insulted you-” Brock hissed at Ash, “brother or not-”

“He’s right though,” Ash spoke softly and it stopped Brock from speaking any more. Ash gestured to Pikachu, “he’s been locked up for too long, would you mind taking him for a walk? He’s not really talking or dealing with me at the moment.”

Brock turned to look at the sleeping Pokémon, “and what will you do while I’m gone?” His tone suggested that he already knew the answer.

Ash let out a chuckle, “I’m surprised he was still on my bed when I woke up to be honest.” He didn’t bother addressing the question and Brock let out a frustrated hiss before walking over to Ash’s rumpled bed. He gently swooped up Pikachu and then strode out of the room with a slam of the door.

Ash didn’t acknowledge Forrest and went back over to his bed, he lowered himself into a sitting position and lent back against the wall. He waited patiently for a few moments before he looked at the younger man standing awkwardly at the door, Forrest caught his eye and the false bravado that he came in with evaporated.

Ash smiled slightly and gestured to Brock’s bed on the other side of the room, once Forrest had sat down Ash started speaking, “I get it – and before you interrupt me, please just hear me out.”

Forrest nodded and shut his mouth; he had no doubt been going to tell Ash that he didn’t ‘get it’ which to a degree, Ash would fully admit. He wouldn’t know the complete feeling of utter abandonment by both his parents, and the feeling of his older brother leaving him in charge of a Gym to go off on his own journey.

Ash studied Forrest a minute, the young man had been 10 when he had been handed the Gym – the same age Ash had been when he left on his Pokémon journey all those years ago. They were about the same age and while Ash had seen and done so many things in his life already, he could guarantee it was nothing compared to Forrest.

The responsibility on his shoulders was immense, his parents were always running off and following their dreams, the Gym needed constant looking after as did his 8 younger siblings. Ash had to admit that he had expected this conversation a long time ago.

“You are remarkable,” Ash began and Forrest’s head shot up from where he had been steadfastly looking into the carpet.

Ash nodded and laughed a bit, “yeah – you really are. I mean here you are - same age as me and having been a Gym Leader for longer than I’ve been a Champion. You have 8 younger brothers and sisters to take care of, your parents aren’t around and your older brother is off chasing his dreams…probably like you want to be doing.”

Forrest couldn’t meet his eyes and it suddenly occurred to Ash, “no-one’s ever asked you have they? What you want to do? What your dream is?”

Ash didn’t receive a response so he kept going, “in all the years that I’ve known you, I’ve never heard you complain once. Ever. Any time I come and I take your brother away – again. You always see us off with a smile; you always welcome me into your home-”

“It’s different this time,” Forrest finally interrupted him and Ash took a moment before asking gently, “why is it different this time?”

Forrest gave him a look as if to say that he was mad, “were we in the same Summit meeting? Did you hear and see the things I saw?” He went into a further tirade, going into the great danger and immense risks that were involved in them going into Victory Road. When he was finished Ash let him take a moment to get his breathing back under control before asking again, “but why this time?” Forrest threw his hands up in frustration which made Ash smile, “I understand the danger – believe me. Sometimes I even think about running away and never coming back.”

Forrest looked surprised at his confession, “it’s true. The thought of going into Victory Road right now scares the crap out of me. I remember when I went through it the first time – even without all this going on, it’s still scary. There are very strong Pokémon through that tunnel and with what is happening to them now…” Ash trailed off and shook his head, “regardless – this isn’t about me right now. It’s about you and Brock and why this time are you coming forward? Every time Brock and I go off together there is a chance of something like this happening, always. Why only now are you saying something? What has changed?”

Forrest ran a hand through his hair and then messed it up; he didn’t say anything so Ash pressed further, “Brock and I were hunted every day for years by Team Rocket, we’ve met some of the most strongest and volatile Pokémon in the world – and we’ve stopped a few of them from annihilating the human race. All of which, I’m pretty sure Brock has told you about. You never said anything then – at least not to me. So why is it that you are so eager to punch my lights out? What is it that I have done-?”

“You could get Brock killed!”

Ash stopped, Forrest was looking at him with utter wretched despair in his face. Tears were pricking at his eyelids and he rubbed his eyes to stop them from falling. “You always – it _is_ different this time. Even you said it yourself, that you are scared.” Forrest started crying in earnest and Ash watched uncomfortably from where he sat, waiting for him to finish. “Did you ever stop to think that Brock didn’t want to go with you all the time? That maybe he only went with you because no one else would?”

“Yes.”

Forrest stopped abruptly at that frank confession; Ash stared at the wall, at his blanket – at anything but Forrest. “Yes, I have. Many times, over the years, truth be told. I once even entertained the idea of just leaving from Pallet Town and not going to Pewter at all, just bypassing it completely and heading off by myself – but that evening I got a call from Brock asking me if he should bother taking his third pot since there would only be the two of us. He sounded so excited and because of that I couldn’t wait to go.”

Ash heaved in a sigh and leaned his head back against the wall, “I have felt guilty for taking him away from you, you know.”

“Then why did you take him away? If one feels guilty, normally it means they know they are doing something wrong.”

Ash smiled sadly, “I guess I figured that I don’t have a brother and you have several.”

“Not older brothers,” Forrest argued.

Ash nodded, “indeed, but I also reckoned that Brock would always go back to you when you needed or called for him. Every time I took him away, I expected him to leave part-way through and never come back. But you never called…”

“That doesn’t mean I never needed him!” Forrest stood up and yelled at Ash who raised his head and finally looked at him, “If I could say ‘sorry’ to you and mean it I would, but I’m not sorry for taking Brock away from you.”

Forrest gaped at him.

“I am sorry for what your parents did, for you being left to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, for not allowing you to chase your dreams. But I will never be sorry for taking Brock on my journey with me. He is my brother in every way that counts-”

“In every way that counts?” Forrest interrupted angrily, “he’s my brother by blood and DNA!”

Ash broke the slight silence after Forrest’s interruption, “did I ever tell you about Shamouti?”

Slightly confused by the change of subject, Forrest shook his head in the negative allowing Ash to continue. He went into detail about the adventure he had around the Orange Islands and how he was deemed ‘The Chosen One.’

“Brock hadn’t been there, he was with Professor Ivy at that point…did he ever tell you what happened there?”

Forrest grinned and shook his head, “no – but if you ever find out let me know.”

Ash tiredly raised his thumb up, “so I was being pulled out of the water by Misty at this point and I’m dragging myself up the stairs…”

He continued on with his story about Shamouti until he got to where he was riding through the sky on Lugia’s back.

“That’s sounds really cool…”Forrest said with envy colouring his tone, “but why did you tell me this?”

Ash cricked his neck and stretched out his arms, “because it was the first big adventure that I had without Brock, and it was also the scariest.”

Forrest still looked lost so Ash elaborated, “I can’t go through Victory Road without him. He is more than my strategos, he is my anchor, and he calm’s me down and makes me think. I never would have made it this far without him; I seriously doubt that I would be a Champion without him!”

Ash moved himself towards the edge of the bed, “I don’t have any right to ask this of you and I’m not going to promise you that Brock won’t get hurt, you and I both know that’s an impossible guarantee. But, please let Brock join me in Victory road and I will do everything in my power to make sure that he comes back to your family alive.”

* * *

 

 

**_Continuing flashback…_ **

The first dial was easy, he was pretty sure that everyone in the room knew who he was going to pick at this point. He spun until he got to Kanto and eventually Brock’s face showed up in front of him, he pressed down and locked in his friend’s name.

Brock’s face and details popped up on the screen a few moments later, “Brock Harrison – originally from Pewter City and former Pewter City Gym Leader. Currently travelling companion of Master Ash Ketchum,” there was laughter due to Agatha’s amused and dry tone, Brock and Ash exchanged a thumbs up and Brock stood up, “does anyone second this choice?”

Immediately alerts popped up onscreen, Dawn ripped the microphone from Brock who had been passed it upon his name coming up on the screen, “seconded! I second it!” She bounced up and down waiting eagerly for Agatha to give the okay, “thank you for that, does anyone not agree with this choice?”

There was scuffle behind Ash and he turned around, Forrest was being held down by Lt Surge and Koga who sat on either side of him and Crasher Wake who was holding his shoulders down to keep him from standing, “but he’s my brother!” Ash heard Forrest hiss and he turned a glare upon Ash that made the Champion step back slightly.

Ash turned to Brock who was looking at the scene with slight irritation, Ash sent his friend a confused look to which Brock sent back a dismissive wave.

“Is there a problem?” Ash turned back to the Kanto Elite Four all of whom were standing and trying to see what was going on.

“No, there is no problem Master Agatha, and just so you don’t have to ask, I will go, most definitely.” Brock interjected smoothly and then sat down effectively ending any more argument. Agatha looked suspicious for a moment but eventually let it go, “the first person to join Master Ash Ketchum on his journey is Brock Harrison, seconded by Dawn Berlitz. Master Ketchum, your second choice.”

Ash spun the second dial until he found Tracey’s face, he locked it in.

* * *

 

 

It took a while for Ash to start moving once Forrest had left, they hadn’t shook hands or anything but Ash didn’t have a second black eye and he had Forrest’s consent – to some degree. He would take it nonetheless.

It took him a while to reach Dawn’s room; he was walking at a rather slow pace due to his aching head, he really hoped she was in there. Ash knocked on the door to receive no answer, he let out a sigh. “Dawn? It’s Ash – please open the door.”

He heard some shuffling and then silence, “Dawn – I really don’t want to leave here before we talk. I don’t want to go into Victory Road with you angry at me, especially when I may not come back.”

Again there was silence, Ash let out a groan and turned his back to the door, he slid gently down it and sat on the floor with his back against the door. “You’ll probably get a kick out of seeing me – black eye and everything. I think Lance really did something for the team this time around.”

Still not hearing anything, Ash decided to play his final trump card.

“You know, this floor is actually quite comfortable, I could probably stay here all night…what do you say to a sing-a-long, what’s that song you like?” Ash took in a deep breath only to hear footsteps running to the door, it was pulled open and Ash fell backwards onto Dawn’s feet.

She was glaring down at him and he grinned sheepishly up at her, “don’t sing,” was all she uttered at him before roughly pulling her feet out from under him and marching back over to her bed.

She had left to door open however and Ash thought that was a pretty good start. He slowly got up and entered her room; she was sharing with Candice – the Snowpoint Gym Leader. Gingerly, Ash took a seat upon the end of Candice’s bed and addressed Dawn.

She wasn’t looking at him and was hugging her pillow to her chest; Piplup was also glaring at him unhappily, realizing he was the source that made Dawn so upset at the present.

“Dawn – I’m really sorry.”

Ash didn’t have to wait for a reaction; Dawn wasn’t one to hide her feelings. She let out a scoff and turned a scowl upon him, “what? For not picking me to go with you, or for not telling me?”

“For not telling you,” Ash clarified, he watched the emotion’s play on his young companions face and she struggled to hold in her tears. “You were never going to take me with you, were you?” She asked with a hitch in her tone.

“No, I wasn’t.” Ash admitted, “I should, however, have told you – paid you at least that courtesy.” Dawn snorted and rolled her eyes, “yeah, pay me the courtesy of telling me what you were doing – oh and that I wasn’t good enough to come with you!”

Ash furrowed his brow, “it’s not about whether or not you’re good enough Dawn-”

“Then what?” She demanded angrily, “what made you keep something like this from me, what made you decide not to tell me – other than the fact that you knew I would ask why and you were too afraid to tell me the truth!”

Ash let that outburst settle for a moment, “not afraid – more that I couldn’t…bank on you not to tell anyone else.”

It took a moment, but soon Ash found himself craning his head up as Dawn loomed over him, “are you telling me that you couldn’t TRUST ME?!” She ended up yelling in his face, Ash closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his face that didn’t have his black-eye, he let out a sigh, “I do trust you-”

“Really? Because by what you just said it doesn’t seem to be the case, or is it dependable on certain things? Like the higher the danger the less we tell Dawn, maybe these names might ring a bell with you: Darkrai, Giratina, ARCEUS -”

“Yes, Dawn – I get it, please stop yelling at me.” Ash interrupted and gestured to his head to show that he was in pain. Dawn huffed and flopped back on her bed, she was still scowling at him, waiting for an explanation.

“I didn’t tell you about this Dawn because you have a habit of discussing things you shouldn’t – especially with the wrong company – and if you interrupt me again I will leave out that door.”

Dawn looked mulish but shut her mouth all the same, Ash continued, “normally it’s not a big deal – but with this Dawn…even I wasn’t supposed to know as much as I did. Lance took a huge risk in telling me everything he knew and I did the same with Brock. All three of us could have been barred from ever dealing with Pokémon again. Can you blame me for not wanting to get you further involved? ”

Dawn didn’t answer, but her face softened a bit and Ash ploughed on, “If I had told you about the plan, it would have implicated you and your face tells a thousand words Dawn, I needed you to look surprised today.”

“Congratulations then, surprise wasn’t exactly how I would put it though.” Dawn smiled at him briefly and Ash gave her one back, “I am sorry for not telling you Dawn, please believe that.”

Dawn nodded, “I do…and yeah, I’m a bit of a blabbermouth. I probably shouldn’t have told people all about Arceus today.”

Ash chuckled, “I’m sure it will be alright, besides I broke that promise first.” The two shared a laugh and Ash got up and made his way over to Dawn, he sat down beside her and stretched his legs out over the width of the bed.

“As for me not bringing me with you Dawn, it was hard enough for me to decide to go – let alone choose who to take with me.”

“I would have said yes, I would have gone without hesitation.”

Ash smiled and took one of her hands in his, “I know you would have. Its part of the reason I’m not taking you. You barrel into things head on, with energy and passion and you’re so full of life Dawn…Victory Road will take all that away from you.”

Dawn side-eyed him, “you don’t know that-”

“I do, know that, Dawn.” Ash interrupted her and turned to look at her, “going into Victory Road – it’s not about how tough you are, or how strong your Pokémon are. It’s not about how smart or analytical you are, or how fast you are on your feet. Victory Road alone tests you on every level that you have, Victory Road with what’s happening now…it will kill you Dawn.”

Dawn swallowed and squeezed his hand, “and it won’t kill you?”

Ash closed his eyes.

* * *

 

 

**_Continue flashback.._ **

“Tracey Sketchit, Junior Research at Professor Oak’s Laboratory in Pallet Town, Kanto.”

Ash looked from the screen that was currently blinking Tracey’s details at him, to look at the man in question. He was looking surprised and was pointing to himself as though to make sure, he looked to Ash who shrugged and smiled.

“Does anybody second this?”

There was a tense silence as no buzzers went up and for a moment, Ash felt his heart sink to his stomach.

“I do, I will second this.”

Ash whirled around; Misty was standing behind him with the microphone in her hand determinedly looking at Agatha and not at him.

The elder woman nodded and turned her attention to the Researcher, “Mr Sketchit – will you join Master Ketchum and company into-”

“Yes, yes – of course!” Tracey interrupted Agatha with fervent agreement making Ash grin at the sour look on Agatha’s face.

“Thank you Mr Sketchit , we understand that you _want_ to go.” Agatha said icily and Gary reached up to pull Tracey back into his seat and took the microphone off of him. Agatha nodded her thanks to him briefly before addressing Ash again.

“You’re third and final choice, Master Ketchum?”

Ash laid a hand on the wheel and scanned his brain wondering who on earth he could take, or at least who would agree to go. He knew that he had to choose fast, any lingering would indicate that he wasn’t quite sure.

He spun the dial at random and kept going till he reached Johto and then it hit him, spinning quickly Ash found who he was looking for and locked her in.

He kept his head down as the name flashed up on screen and many people gasped in astonishment.

“Clair, current Gym Leader of Blackthorn City and member of Clan Blackthorn, Johto…” although she did her best, even Agatha couldn’t hide the bewilderment in her voice.

Ash wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at Lance. His friend had immediately turned his back on the congregation, but Ash had noted the split-second look of confusion on Lance’s face before he had made that turn.

“Does anybody second this?” Agatha asked through clenched teeth, she was glaring up at him with a look as if to say ‘you had better have a good explanation.’

Karen, the final challenge of the Johto Elite Four rose out of her chair and gestured for the microphone, “I will second this.” She smiled at Clair and then passed the microphone back over to her.

Clair took the microphone as Agatha spoke, asking if she was willing to go. She took a moment and then turned her attention to Ash; she didn’t say anything but just stared at him for a good few seconds. “I am willing,” she spoke quietly and bowed her head slightly to Ash.

He smiled back at her gratefully and then turned back round to face the Kanto Elite Four, Lance still had his back turned and Agatha was whispering furiously to him – probably trying and no doubt failing, to salvage the situation.

Lorelei, noting that both Agatha and Lance were busy between themselves, took on the rest of the duties and closed out the Summit. She reiterated what was going to happen and asked for Ash, Brock, Tracey and Clair to meet tomorrow afternoon to discuss further about their plan of action.

As people filed out slowly one-by-one Ash stayed where he was, the platform that the Kanto Elite Four were standing on was slowly being lowered to the ground and Ash was hoping that Lance would stick around so that he could explain himself.

He was so busy worrying about it that he didn’t notice that most people had left, “Ketchum!” Ash jumped slightly at the snarl of his last name. He turned around to see who had addressed him and if Brock hadn’t managed to grab a hold of the fist that was aiming for his face, Ash was sure he probably would have tumbled backwards over the platform railing by the force of it.

“Shit-!” Ash stumbled back as he watched Brock force his brother back away from Ash, “what the hell?” Ash asked out loud to no one in particular.

Forrest was hurling insults and threats his way, Ash sent Brock a look that read ‘explain please?’ Brock just shook his head, “it’s alright – I’ll talk to you later. You should probably go and talk to Lance.”

Ash nodded, still bewildered and edged his way around the brothers. He walked back around the arena to another set of stairs that led down to where Agatha and Lance were. Every step made him feel like he was plummeting, his legs were like jelly and his hold on the railing was sweaty.

He took it step by step down the hallway, it was barely lit and was shorter than he liked, he grinned to himself wryly, it was like déjà-vu – standing at the end of a dark hallway and waiting to enter the arena to battle.

Although this time it was only him doing the battling, he didn’t have his Pokémon with him and he could lose more than a match this time around. He entered through the doors and into the arena, the bright lights made him blink as he adjusted to the change and he found himself staring directly at what he could only described as an incensed Dragon Master.

As Ash took a few steps towards Lance he saw Agatha put a hand on his elbow and speak loudly enough for the both of him to hear, “let him explain himself.”

She was angry too, he could tell by her tone and he knew that he would not get any sympathy from her.

Lance wasn’t looking at him; he had barely reacted since he had walked out onto the platform to meet him. Ash stopped in front of Lance and didn’t bother to give him a smile or a look of apology, “Lance-”

That was all he got out, before he could say any more the Dragon Master had launched at him and threw a punch to his head that had him blacking out for a few seconds and crumbling to the floor.

“I thought I told you to stay in your room?”

Ash jumped, he closed Dawn’s door and turned around to see Agatha standing behind him. He sighed, “Lance was right – you really are like your ghost Pokémon.”

She gave him an evil grin, “thank you. Now – why are you out?”

Ash gestured to the door, “I had to talk to Dawn, needed to get things straight before I left.”

Agatha raised a brow, “you have a few days at least before you go, you couldn’t have waited a bit and done as I had asked?” She asked drily, as though knowing it was impossible.

Ash grinned, “I could have I suppose, but with Dawn it’s best to just rip off the band-aid. Waiting would have caused more problems than it solved. But I promise – last visit for today. I’m heading back to my room now. You can even escort me there!”

He held out his elbow to her and she looked at it with a mix of disgust and amusement, she started walking away in the direction of his room and Ash joined her in-step.

“How is your head?”

“Still there.”

“I suppose that is all that really matters.”

Ash laughed and her candor and then winced in pain; Agatha noted this and spoke up quietly, “your Mother should be arriving in a few days.”

Ash looked at her in surprise, “Cynthia is picking her up on her way back from Celestic Town. I took the liberty of asking Professor Oak to inform your Mother. I figured with your current state, you wouldn’t want to see her face-to-face.”

She gestured to the black eye that he had and he nodded, “thank you – I appreciate that.” He smiled gratefully at her.

“While I was talking to Professor Oak, he also brought up a very good point,” Ash grinned at the annoyance in her tone, “he will be heading back to Pallet Town to meet your Mother and help Cynthia escort her here, he mentioned that a lot of your Pokémon are kept at his lab.”

Ash knew where she was going with this and he let out a heavy sigh, they stopped outside of the door to his room and she raised a brow at him, “you should think about this for today, decide what team you want to take with you. Professor Oak will be arriving in Pallet town tonight, so I suggest you contact him tomorrow and exchange your Pokémon.”

Ash nodded tiredly and grabbed at the door handle with a yawn, “Lance will forgive you, in time.”

Ash shrugged and Agatha bristled, “don’t pretend that-”

“I’m not pretending anything,” Ash interrupted her shortly, he turned to look at her and although her face didn’t betray her, on the inside she was extremely worried for the young man in front of her. He looked like he was about to collapse from the strain of everything.

“I have so many things to think about, people are questioning everything I do, every choice I make! I have the ‘team’ meeting tonight, and I have to decide which Pokémon I want to take with me. Pokémon strong enough to make it through Victory Road and back and also one’s I wouldn’t mind potentially _sacrificing_. I get to see my Mother for all of a day probably, have her worrying and fussing over me – making me feel even worse for not seeing her in so long. I have friendships that I have to mend; I have explanations to make, conversations that need to happen. I have people looking at me in the hallway wondering why I now have a black-eye, some of my friends and Pokémon aren’t even talking to me and in a few days I’m going to enter into what may aptly be described as hell-!”

Agatha closed her eyes at his biting tone, but she let him continue ranting. Throughout all of this she didn’t think she had ever heard him complain, he had just taken it all in stride and had made some extremely difficult choices. Choices that, despite his age and experience alone, would be difficult for anyone, he was to lead a team – he was to take responsibility for everything that happened once the four entered Victory Road, the lives of people and their Pokémon was on his shoulders, it wasn’t an easy burden to bear.

Combine all that with the loss of friendship, trust and loyalty of many people; it was no wonder that at the moment she was looking at a shadow of the young man she had seen only a few days ago. The young effervescent man that had entered into these halls, tired from a long journey but happy to be in his home region, happy to be amongst friends and peers alike.

“ – as far as I’m concerned, Lance and his bloody fists can wait until I’m ready.” Ash finished his outburst with a deep breath in and after a few moments he looked sheepish, “I’m sorry Aga-”

She raised a hand to stop his apology and fixed him with her beady eyes, “get some rest, I will see you tonight.”

* * *

 

**_Continue flashback…_ **

Ash woke to find Agatha standing over him and Lance stepping over him to walk out of the arena, Ash tried to call out to him but found that he could barely move. He groaned slightly in pain and stayed on the hard floor for a few moments to stop the dizziness.

He felt a prodding at his waist and looked around to see Agatha prodding him with her walking stick; he looked up at her with slight outrage. She pursed her lips and rose and eyebrow, “I’m not coming down to you,” she said tartly and walked over to one of the chairs.

Ash slowly got up and made his way over to the chairs, he slumped down in one and clutched at his head, “I forgot how hard he could punch, jeez.”

She let him wither in pain for a few moments, “as much as I am enjoying seeing you like this,” Ash looked at her incredulously, “we do have to cut to the chase.”

“You _enjoy_ seeing me like this?”

“You hurt Lance,” she said simply

Ash gaped at her, “but you _knew_ I was going to have to!”

Agatha sneered at him, “I knew that you were not going to take him, what I didn’t expect was that you would take his _cousin_ instead!”

Ash rolled his eyes and Agatha poked him again, “ow – would you stop with that?”

“Don’t give me sass boy; my faith in you is fading, rapidly.”

They had a stare off for a few minutes before Ash gave in, “she was the best choice-”

Agatha let out a snort at that and Ash clenched his jaw to stop him from saying something he might regret, “you and I both know I couldn’t have taken Lance with me, right?”

“Yes, we’ve already hashed that out. What I want to know is why you are taking _her_ with you.”

“Because I’m pretty sure after what you’ve told me regarding the Blackthorn Clan, and with Lance now probably not listening to either of us-”

“Just you – he is currently still talking to me.”

“And how long will that last? Lance may be angry but he’s never been stupid. He will put two and two together and realize that you were in on this with me,” Ash pointed out and Agatha glared at him.

“Soon he won’t be talking to either of us, do you really want Clair around him while he isn’t talking to and resenting us?”

Ash saw the change in Agatha’s face when she realized what he was getting at and slowly her face morphed into a smile, “you’re taking her with you to stop her from getting to Lance while you’re away.”

Ash smiled, “after what you told me – I don’t want any negative influences on Lance. We need him and if the Clans have anything to do with what is going on now, we can’t have anything happen to the League, we can’t go back to what once was.”

Agatha nodded, “you couldn’t have told me about this earlier?”

“What, so you wouldn’t have prodded me with your stick?”

“I still would have done that, but I would have stopped this from occurring,” she gestured to where Lance had hit Ash and he shrugged, “I deserved it – I betrayed him.”

“For a good reason,” Agatha returned to him and stood up from her chair getting ready to leave.

Ash slowly joined her, “it doesn’t matter the reason, all that matters now is that I have to fix it."

* * *

 

 

The team meeting had been awkward to say the least, all members of the Kanto Elite Four were present along with the Professors of the varying regions, and Clair, Tracey, Brock and Ash were also there. The elephant in the room, being the now possibly defunct relationship between Ash and Lance stood out, with the two of them not talking to anyone, Ash only making nods when he was addressed.

Agatha led the meeting as per usual and her, Brock and the Professors were the ones that decided on the best course of action. Tracey interrupted every now and again much to Agatha’s immense irritation, at one point she had turned to Professor Oak and had told him, in much more vocal terms, to shut him up.

Clair was studying him and Lance intently, obviously noting that the two of them were not interacting like they normally were. The contracts had not even been written up yet; she had every right to back out whenever she wanted to. The thought of that unnerved Ash, he was banking on her thirst for glory to carry her through to the end, the thought of being part of the team that comes out from Victory Road with valuable information would hopefully be enough for her.

It had been one of the most painful hours of Ash’s life, but once it had been over Ash was not surprised to see that Lance was the first person up and out of his chair, Ash hastily followed ignoring the calls of his name as he followed Lance at a distance.

Lance was heading to the lifts and Ash hesitated to join him there, his hesitation cause Clair to be able to catch up with him and stop him from following Lance any further.

“We need to talk,” she pulled him away from the lifts and Ash struggled to relieve himself of her hold, “not now Clair, I need to talk to Lance.”

“Well that’s obvious, your little bromance is cracking at the seams, I don’t care – what I have to say is more important.”

“Highly doubtful.”

She sent a sharp-teethed grin towards him, “you don’t want to follow him where he’s going anyway. He’s heading to the battlements, if he’s pissed enough at you for whatever you did or didn’t do, he may just throw you over.”

With that comforting thought, she pulled him into one of the communal lounges that was thankfully empty. “Alright Clair, what is so important that you had to drag me here by the scruff of my neck,” Ash asked jokingly as he rubbed his sore chest from where her nails had been digging in.

She faced him head on, all traces of a smile gone. “Why did you pick me?”

Ash paused for a second, “you don’t want to go?”

“Don’t answer my question with a question.”

“On the contrary, I need to know Clair. If you don’t want to go – I need to get someone else – and fast.”

She tapped her foot irritably and he crossed his arms, “if I gave you an answer to your question, would it change your choice to go?”

She didn’t answer, but the look on her face read ‘maybe.’

Ash uncrossed his arms and sighed, “I picked you for three reasons Clair.”

She stopped tapping her foot and he gestured for the two of them to sit down, “I’ll stand,” she said in reply and Ash grinned before taking a seat himself, “don’t mind if I do then?”

“Just get to the point!” She started pacing while he talked.

Ash chuckled, “One – is that you are my friend and I trust you.” She raised an eyebrow at that and he held up his hand, “hey – it’s true. I need people I can trust on this journey. You can also stay calm under pressure – although we have to work on that stubbornness.”

She let out a laugh at that and stopped pacing, “next?”

Ash raised a hand to the back of his head, “without trying to sound too sexist, there were already three guys in the team, we needed a female.”

She stared at him and he shrugged nonchalantly, “men and women co-exist for a reason, balance, its basic Yin and Yang, two sides of the same coin; and four men on a team? That’s a whole lot of testosterone and I needed a female to help balance it out at least a little.”

He could see her brow furrowing and he elaborated further, “in my experience…I’ve found that there are only some things a woman can do.”

She grinned at that, “very true – we are the superior gender. The third?”

He ignored her little dig and continued, “thirdly – I needed a Juggernaut.”

There was silence for a few seconds before, in a rather insulted tone, Clair asked “a Juggernaut?”

Ash nodded, “yeah – someone strong, someone who could go the distance. There was me right? The ‘Leader,’ Brock - who is my strategos, Tracey who has the eagle eyes and ability to see things that other’s can’t-”

“And me,” Clair finished for him, “the _Juggernaut_.”

“Exactly!” Ash beamed at her, but she didn’t look very convinced.

He sighed, “you are a Dragon Pokémon Trainer, a Gym Leader - your Pokémon are some of the strongest around, you have trained for stamina and power – two of which I both need. I need somebody who was willing to go in for possibly the long haul. I needed someone who was strong enough to take on this challenge.”

“As well as being a friend and a female?” Clair asked shrewdly.

Ash nodded again, “preferably – yes.”

She raised her chin, “so why not any of the other females that you have travelled with before? I’m sure they are good friends of yours, you trust them and-”

“ – and they are not as strong as you.” Ash interrupted, he looked at her pointedly. “Dawn is a Coordinator as is May. Victory Road would destroy Dawn and May hasn’t been invited here, nor can I wait any longer.”

Clair narrowed her eyes, “Misty?”

Ash just stared at her.

Clair broke off with a laugh, “wouldn’t that be awkward?”

She continued laughing as she imagined it and Ash let her, pleased that she was amused and was no longer suspicious of him.

“So are you done grilling me? Can I go find your cousin now and have him do the same thing?”

Clair waved her hand towards the door, still laughing.

He had almost made it out the door when she called him again, “Ash – why is Lance so mad at you?”

Ash paused and he clenched his hand around the door handle before he opened it, “because I broke a promise.”

* * *

 

 

**Flashback to seven years ago. (Ash is about 16)**

The two teenagers collapsed onto the grass, each clutching at their bodies in pain.

“I think you broke a rib!” Ash managed to gasp out and clutched at his side.

Lance let out an evil chuckle while holding his dislocated shoulder so that it wouldn’t move as much, “good.”

“Dick-”

“Bastard-”

“You are both morons!” The two looked up to see an exasperated Brock staring down at them, Lance grinned at Ash who raised his hand in a thumbs up gesture to Brock.

Brock shook his head at the pair of them and turned around to go back to camp, “dinner is ready and I’m not keeping it warm for you, nor am I fixing you guys up either!”

“Aw, c’mon Brock! Brock!”

“I think he’s mad at us,” Lance spoke blandly as they watched him leave, Ash let out a laugh and then winced as his ribs ached, he rubbed the area and scowled at the Dragon Master, “you did that on purpose.”

Lance slowly got up and walked over to Ash, “guilty, however I give you the great pleasure of putting my arm back in place.”

“Woo.”

Lance hunkered down beside Ash who was finally able to sit up properly, “you going to be able to do this?”

Ash nodded, “yeah, give me a minute though.”

Lance nodded and the two sat quietly for a few minutes until Lance broke it, “are you feeling better?”

Ash stared at him and then gestured to himself and the damage that Lance had caused, Lance laughed loudly, “not physically – I mean obviously you’re not okay there, I do throw a mean punch.”

Ash scoffed, “If I weren’t in so much pain I’d hit you again.”

Through his laughter, Lance managed to clarify what he meant, “about Misty – are you feeling better?”

Ash paused from the banter for a moment and looked up at the stars, similar to the ones that he and Misty shared while at the Lake of Rage. He fiddled with some of the dewy blades of the long grass he and Lance were sitting in and breathed in the fresh scent of flowers, again – not unlike the scent that was about when and Misty were in Floaroma town for her birthday that time.

“For a moment,” Ash started quietly, “I had forgotten about her.”

“Good.”

Ash looked sharply at Lance who was looking calm and relaxed despite his firm tone, “how is it good?” Ash asked.

“It’s good, because it tells you that you can live without her.”

Ash snorted, “I wouldn’t say being beaten to a pulp is ‘living.’”

Lance laughed, “no – but it took your mind off her, which is why I am here. To take your mind off her.”

Ash side-eyed his friend, “is that why you baited me?”

Lance cringed, “you recognized that?”

Ash nodded with a smirk on his face and Lance sighed, “damn, I got to work on that.”

Ash laughed, “yeah, you do. And by the way – if you say anything like that about her again, I won’t let you off easy this time.”

Lance furrowed his brow, “let me off easy?”

Ash moved closer to get a better hold on Lance’s arm, “yeah, you’re lucky I realized that you were baiting me.”

Lance stopped Ash from grabbing hold of his arm, “and what If I meant what I said about her?”

Ash stopped and met Lance’s eyes, “did you?”

Lance considered what he said, “some of it, hey! Where are you going? Ash!”

Ash had immediately stood up and walked away, Lance caught up to him and pulled him around to face him when Ash exploded, “she’s not perfect, okay? I know that – but neither are you or me, or anyone else. We all make mistakes! Mistakes can be fixed!”

Lance let go of his friends forearm while Ash yelled at him, he waited till Ash had finished before asking, “and what if it wasn’t a mistake?”

Ash glared at him, “you can’t talk about her like that, you don’t know her!”

Lance nodded, “your right, I don’t. Certainly not like you know and not like Brock knows her, or Dawn or her sisters. I’ve only met Misty about a handful of times – if that.”

Ash could feel the rattling in his chest as Lance explained his point of view, he hated that it made sense. He tried not to let the tears fall but he couldn’t help it.

“I don’t have the faith in her that the rest of you do, you know me Ash, I’m not the type of person that trusts easily.”

“She loves me!”

Lance grimaced, “does she? Cause her actions say otherwise. If she loved you even half as much as you loved her then why has she gone and left you?”

Ash had no answer to that and just continued standing there with tears silently rolled down his face.

Lance pushed on, “I get that there is something there between the two of you, even a blind person could see it, which makes her leaving all the more weird. It doesn’t make sense to me and I can’t forgive or support what she’s done to you.”

Ash shook his head and rubbed his eyes, “she hasn’t done anything to me.”

“I didn’t mean physically – that was me. But everything else, it’s like you have nothing inside of you – like she’s taken everything you had with her and left nothing but a husk!”

Ash rolled his eyes, “I’m not a-”

“What happened to the Gym Challenge? As far as I’m aware you haven’t battled with your Pokémon in weeks?”

“Stop.”

“Is this what a Champion should be like?”

“Stop!”

“Are you a robot? Do you only work with your little girlfriend around?”

“STOP!”

Lance took a step back as Ash roared at him, he had been trying to push Ash’s buttons – to get him to react and so far he was succeeding, however he didn’t exactly expect this much of a reaction.

Ash took a few deep breaths to control himself, “I’m not like you Lance – I can’t just turn off my feelings like a light switch if and when I choose to!”

Lance ignored the insult, “I’m not telling you to switch it off, I’m telling you that you need to get moving again – you need to for-”

He stopped himself, but from the look in Ash’s eyes he already knew what Lance was going to say.

Ash smiled bitterly at his friend, “forget huh? Like it’s that easy…she was there for everything Lance. She was the first person I met on my journey…I still owe her a goddamn bike…”

Lance grimaced tightly, “’forget’ is the wrong choice of word, I’m sorry Ash – It’s not that I want you to forget her. I just…I want you to start, at least _trying_ , to learn to live without her.”

Ash shrugged his shoulder, “it’s not that easy, Lance. With you it’s different; you shut yourself off from Jasmine. You never even give either of yourselves a chance-”

Lance held up a hand, “don’t change the subject. We’re not talking about me – we’re talking about you. And you’re right, it won’t be easy but that is why I am here. To help.”

Ash laughed, “and your way of helping is to kick my ass?”

Lance grinned, “hell yeah!”

The two shared a laugh and eventually they got back to where they were supposed to be, with Ash trying to pop Lance’s arm back into place.

“Alright, you ready?”

“Wait – Ash, just…I-”

“It’s not going to hurt that much.”

“You know that you’re…like…my best friend right?”

At that Ash stopped and looked at Lance’s profile, the Dragon Master was staring off into the distance towards the camp, where their cold food was probably still waiting for them.

Ash lightly smirked, “no I didn’t know that, bu-”

“Don’t joke about it, this is the only time we will talk about this and we will never mention it again.” Ash laughed at Lance’s brisk and rather embarrassed tone of voice. “Okay, I won’t say anything – I promise.”

“Good…I don’t have many friends. Especially friends I consider to be…close ones. But just so you know, you are one of them and…if you ever need me…”

“I get it – and that goes both ways!” Ash grinned and took a hold of Lance’s arm again.

“Good – because if something like this happens again, I don’t want to get a call from Brock telling me that you’re pretty much dead to the world and that I need to come and beat you out of it –Argh!”

Ash popped his arm back into place, “Brock was the one that called you?”

Lance clutched at his arm and through clenched teeth he managed to get out “yip.”

“Right-”

With that Ash got up and started marching towards the camp, “what are you doing?” Lance yelled out across the field as he too started to get up.

“I’m going to kick Brock’s ass – he’s the one that brought you here, he deserves a beating just as much!

* * *

 

 

It was a chilly night up on the battlements and Ash was glad that he was wearing his hoodie at least. He hadn’t been up there before and in the end he had to ask for directions from Agatha.

He finally made it up the winding staircase to the ladder and trapdoor that was his access, the trapdoor was open, signaling that Lance was still up there.

He pulled himself up and out and was finally standing on top of the Indigo Plateau. It was a great view and probably gave way to some amazing sunsets and sunrises. Once he had finished looking at the view, he looked around for Lance and found him on the opposite side, gazing out to Victory Road.

Ash cautiously made his way round to the other side to where Lance was, he was only a few feet away when Lance moved his head and looked at him directly.

They looked at each other for a long moment, Lance with eyes full of thinly veiled anger and hurt and Ash, nothing but determined.

“Are you ready to listen to me yet?”

Lance chuckled wryly and slowly got up from where he had been sitting, he stalked towards Ash and stopped only a few steps in front of him.

He gave a wicked, slightly crazed grin, “dazzle me.”

Ash refused to be intimidated, “are you actually going to listen or am I just wasting my time right now?”

“Oh I will listen, I want to know exactly why the person I chose to call, in probably my greatest hour of need, the person that I trusted above everybody else, my best friend, my _brother,_ decided to betray, insult and mock me all in less than one minute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 26 pages later…good place to end it yes? 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this, I tried to make it as clear as possible – there are two flashbacks in here. The first is (what happened at the end of the last chapter) interspersed a few times with that is happening in the present, and the second is a bit of the history between Lance and Ash’s rather volatile bromance. 
> 
> So he’s had a few chats with people, a lot of explanation and emotion going on this chapter, I’m really pushing the danger factor with Victory Road for a reason. It’s not going to a perfectly awesome; they are all going to be safe ride. In fact – this has been the easy part. =) 
> 
> I’m also pushing the friends and family emotions too, Ash having brothers in Lance and Brock – some people getting jealous about that. Ash has (in this fic) achieved quite a lot in a short(ish) amount of time. He couldn’t do that without friends and family, so he holds them quite dear – but he also won’t take any shit. Which is how I wrote him, he’s not perfect (or at least if you think so currently, wait for it!) he’s going to make some mistakes (if he hasn’t already, Misty anyone?)
> 
> Also: If you ever want to know how far along I am with next chapter – look on my profile, near the bottom I’ll have a percentage of how much I have done and every time I write some more, I’ll update it.
> 
> Okay, if anyone has any thoughts, comments and concerns – please review! I really would like to know your thoughts.   
> If you want to discuss anything in detail (with or without potential spoilers) just shoot me a PM 
> 
> Next chapter: Lance vs Ash Part II, Mrs Ketchum makes her fabulous arrival, a chat with Gary and...one secret revealed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of first arc. Ash enters Victory Road, Delia Ketchum arrives, Brock confronts Misty.

“Will you promise not to throw me over?” Ash gestured with his head to the left of the Plateau and Lance thought about it for a minute.

“No.”

Ash nodded and gave a resigned sigh, “then our conversation is over.” He turned to walk away and Lance hissed slightly, “it’s not over till-”

“Till what?” Ash interrupted loudly and turned back around, game face on. “Till you decide it is? I’m not a fucking child; I’m not one of your underlings that you can boss around Lance. I’m your Champion – show me some respect.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “like you showed me some? Or is it only the Champion that gets that respect? Which if it is then start explaining yourself and show me some respect – you’re not Champion of Kanto.” He spread his arms triumphantly and smirked at Ash.

Ash paused, he had let his frustration and anger get the better of him and it had backfired on him as per usual, he needed to remain calm especially in dealing with a particularly volatile Lance.

“I’m also your friend.” Ash hadn’t wanted to appeal to Lance this early, Lance had a very unforgiving nature much like his Dragon Pokémon and if you appealed certain elements at the wrong time, he would use them against you – something he was particularly good at.

Lance brought his hands down and rested them at his sides; he studied Ash for a moment before looking away, “you have a funny way of showing it.”

Ash could hear the hurt in Lance’s tone and closed his eyes briefly, “I need you here at the Plateau Lance, If-”

“I know you have a good reason Ash; to get Agatha on board you would have had to.” The Dragon Master took a seat back on the battlements and let out a sigh, “I just wish that you would have confronted me about it first and not let me think I was going with you right up till the end, when you picked _Clair_.” He spoke the last part darkly and sent a glare towards Ash who shrugged.

“There’s no-one better-”

“No-one better?” Lance parroted comically, “a raging Magikarp would be better.” The visual made Ash smiled slightly and Lance caught it and grinned himself, “she’s a strong trainer i’ll give you that, but you know her weaknesses. She stubborn and temperamental and she’s worse than me at taking direction from anyone.”

“Your point?”

“My point,” Lance began, “is that if you wanted to keep her away from me, I would say taking her into Victory Road is pretty drastic.”

Ash furrowed his brow and Lance looked at him pointedly, it took him a while but when Ash got it he felt the panic rise up in his throat. He was sure it showed on his face because Lance laughed loudly at his reaction.

“That’s what you think this is about?” Ash asked aghast. Lance eventually stopped his laughter and met Ash’s eyes again, “lets break it down shall we?”

He rose up from his seat and started walking here and there while ticking things off on his fingers, “I invite you here, I inform you of everything against all League policies, a plan is put in place between you and I to have you be the ‘Leader’ of a team into Victory Road.” Lance stopped pacing and turned back to face Ash, “this is where it gets a bit tricky, something happens and then comes the Summit. On the day of the Summit we find new discoveries and theories, but our plan comes together anyway and you are chosen as the Leader.”

Ash recognised that he had fallen into a trap before; Lance had made him drop his guard and think that when he had pulled the ‘friend’ card it had helped the situation. Not even close. 

“Any parts of that breakdown stand out to you Master Ketchum?” Lance spoke mock politely and Ash resisted the urge to roll his eyes and just shrugged his shoulders knowing that his apathy would get to Lance.

Ash noted the twitch of an eye and the clench of Lance’s jaw before the Dragon Master spoke again, “something happened between the time I talked to you the second night of your arrival and the day of the Summit. I want to know what Agatha or Brock did or said to you to make you change the plan.”

“Did you ever stop to think that maybe it was just me? That nobody else was involved in this conspiracy you’re cooking up?” Ash asked derisively and wasn’t prepared for Lance’s jerk of his that signalled a ‘yes.’

“Yeah, I have thought about that. But I gave you the benefit of the doubt; I thought that something or someone would have put something into your head – made you doubt me.” Lance clenched his jaw, “which you obviously have done and it means they have succeeded. I want to know who it was and what they said.”

Ash took a moment; Lance was waiting for his answer and almost twitching with impatience waiting for his answer. “You’re probably thinking of two things - one is Brock. You think he’s worried about how far you will push me into danger, that because of our friendship I would do anything – include risk my life in Victory Road.”

Lance nodded and Ash coughed lightly, “well you’re wrong, I’ll admit that Brock isn’t happy about me going into Victory Road, but when I told him you weren’t going to be joining us he wasn’t very happy about that either. In fact, he still isn’t happy but he understands my reasons.”

“Which are?”

“I’m getting there.”

Lance growled and Ash resisted the urge to chuckle and instead soldiered on, “next is Agatha – you think she’s said something and she has, but it was things I already knew.”

Lance furrowed his brow, “about me? You mean the Blackthorn Clan stuff?”

Ash nodded, “yeah – I did what you said and pretended like I didn’t already know. But she is worried about the Clan and what they may do to the League and to you, especially if they find out about all of this. It’s why I’m taking Clair.”

Lance narrowed his eyes, “does she think I’ll defect from the League?”

Ash laughed at that, “no – definitely not. She’s more worried that the Blackthorn Clan will cage you – turn you into a Trainer for them and almost breed robotic clones of yourself to create a Super Elite Four.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “she does always think the worst.”

“She does and it’s probably why she’s still a member of the Elite Four. She plans for it, she thinks of the consequences. She wonders one day what will happen if a member of the Blackthorn Clan beats the two of us.”

Lance snorted at that, “as if that will ever happen. The Clan is too set in its ways to ever change. She’s worrying over nothing – which she would know if she deigned to talk to me about it.”

Lance spoke the last part rather bitterly and Ash ran a hand over his face, “it’s more that she doesn’t want to push you away. She’s not an actual member of your family-”

“She’s as good as!” Lance interrupted at him angrily and Ash put his hands up placating.

“I know that, but she doesn’t.”

There was silence for a moment; Ash watched the reactions flitter across Lance’s face, confusion, frustration and unhappiness.

“Agatha treats you like she does everyone else in public, but privately – her concern for you is exactly like my mom’s concern for me.”

Lance jerked his head up to look at Ash who smiled gently, “but – and this is most likely due to the Clan, she doesn’t know where the line is drawn. She doesn’t know how far she can push with you. She wants to keep you around Lance and protect you – for as long as you will let her.”

“Do the two of you trust me so little?” Lance pinned Ash with a ferocious glare making him step back slightly, “do you honestly think that I would...I told you! I told you that I considered you my – I...” Lance closed his eyes and fell back against the wall he had been sitting on; he banged a fist back against the foundations and let out a hiss through his teeth.

“I never meant to make her feel so underappreciated and I thought I had made it clear that I thought you were my brother.” Lance spoke gruffly with his head turned away and there was a pinkness to his cheeks which made Ash grin.

Lance didn’t like talking about things like this, other than when he first told Ash that he had considered him a ‘best friend,’ Lance hadn’t mentioned it again until now. Ash hoped that Lance didn’t pick up on the shift in their conversation, bringing Lance’s attention to the more emotional aspects of relationships with people tended to distract him. Lance wasn’t someone that expected everyone to like him, nor did he actually want that. With people he considered friends however, he seemed to have a fear of losing relationship and it was what Ash had been banking on when he subtly manipulated the conversation to change tack.

Ash took in a deep breath, “the reason I’m not taking you with me into Victory Road – and Agatha agrees with me, is because if I fail I need to know that someone will be here to pick up where I left off.”

Lance swung around so fast to look at Ash that he stumbled slightly; Ash would have laughed if he wasn’t feeling so heavy-hearted. “There needs to be a second team and there is no one better to lead it than you. If I don’t make it out of-”

“Shut up!”

Ash stopped speaking at Lance’s furious interruption, his mouth opened and closed a few times before Lance stalked over to him. They were about the same height and Lance looked at him directly in the eyes, “you. will. not. fail.”

Ash sighed and shook his head, “Lance it’s not something either of us can control. We don’t know-”

Lance waved a hand uncaringly, “we don’t know anything – yeah I got that, thanks. I don’t care about what we do or do not know at the moment; right now what I care about is the fact that you are thinking you are going to fail already. That’s not like you at all. You don’t plan things, you don’t think about other options, you don’t prepare – Ash...you just _do_.”

Ash smiled slightly, “I know – but I can’t do that this time. It’s not just me we’re talking about here, it’s everybody beneath our shoes and everybody else out there not knowing what’s going on...i’m afraid Lance and I _need_ to know that anything happens, anything...I have to know that there will be someone that will do something and not just give up.”

Lance appraised Ash slightly and took a step back, “a second team huh?” He let out a snort and rubbed a hand over his face, “who would I take? You’re taking all the good ones with you.” He punched Ash lightly in the shoulder and turned to look out over the Plateau towards Victory Road.

Ash grinned at his joke and joined Lance to look over at Victory Road, the sun had set and the stars that were usually twinkling over the cave were hidden by dark clouds.

“It’s okay to be afraid Ash; you would be crazy if you weren’t. I believe in you though, you and your Pokémon. I know you are going to come out of it okay, but I promise...I’ll be here if I’m needed. I’ll hold down the fort while you do the fun stuff.”

Ash scoffed, “fun stuff – sure okay. Do you even remember Victory Road?”

Lance grinned, “I do – in point of fact I hold the record for getting through it the fastest.” Ash rolled his eyes and laughed, “of course you do.”

They bantered a bit more back a forth, trying to get back a more light-hearted atmosphere but Ash couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. Everything about this confrontation seemed too easy. Lance didn’t usually let things go this easily, Ash wanted to trust him completely – wanted to believe that Lance wasn’t planning something else, but found it difficult.

He had been on an emotional roller coaster these past few days, going back and forth of who to trust, who to believe and listen to, seeing Misty again...Pokémon behaving strangely, potential factions building inside and outside the Plateau and having to deal with the politics of it all – to name a few.

It sounded crazy, but Ash wondered if going into Victory Road would be more of a break than it should be. He turned back to Lance and drew himself out of his thoughts, “I’m sorry Lance.”

Lance breathed in deep and then shrugged his shoulders, “I get it – I do. I’m not exactly an open book except when i’m angry. I also have more authority than someone my age should rightfully be allowed, but this is the only one you get. Don’t doubt me again.”

* * *

 

It was raining when Delia Ketchum arrived at the Indigo Plateau with her small entourage in tow, a bad omen in Agatha’s books.

“Wow, this place is bigger than I remember!” She exclaimed and stepped out of the range of her umbrella making the holder – her Mr Mime – panic and chase after her to cover her properly.

“You always say that,” Professor Oak spoke cheerfully as he carried his and her bags through the gates towards to Plateau.

Agatha wondered briefly how many times the woman had been at the Plateau before she was almost bowled over where she stood.

She righted herself carefully with a hand from Cynthia and looked around to see what had happened; caustic words died in her mouth as she watched Ash embrace his mother tightly, one that she returned with enthusiasm. Mr Mime was bouncing slightly and holding an umbrella over the both of them; Pikachu was still on Ash’s shoulder but was also trying to snuggle into Mrs Ketchum as much as possible.

Agatha turned around to give the family a moment and then stopped short, behind her stood many others watching the mother and son reunion. Lance strut forward to help Cynthia with her bags, “how’s it going...Bunny?”

Agatha rolled her eyes as she watched Lance dart away and Cynthia chase after him hollering about him imminent death. She walked over to join the small group that had congregated she stood next to Brock and waited patiently, Brock leaned over and gestured to Cynthia and Lance, “are they always like that?”

“Since they were supposed children,” Agatha replied drily making Brock laugh.

His laughter it seemed caught Mrs Ketchum’s ears and she looked up, she gave a bright easy smile and removed herself from Ash, “Brock! How are you?”

“I’m great, thank you Mrs Ketchum!” He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before introducing her to Forrest who had joined the group. Forrest was treated to a hug as well followed by Tracey, Gary and Dawn, all of whom had come out to greet Ash’s mother.

“Mom, this is Agatha - a member of the Elite Four, she’s agreed to look after you while I’m not here.”

“Oh, lovely to meet you, thank you for having me here.” Agatha didn’t receive a hug for which she was grateful for, however the handshake she got was more vigorous than she expected.

“Yes, well your son didn’t give us much of a choice in the matter,” her words were to the point as usual but she smiled to show that she wasn’t put off by it.

“No I don’t suppose he did – but at least I know where he will be now without having to look on the television this time.”

Ash rolled his eyes and accepted the poke to the stomach that his mother gave him with a look of fake suffering.

“Mom, I’m sorry – it’s not like I planned for you to find out that way-”

“Misty? Is that you dear?”

The whole group turned around to see Misty behind them, she was standing away a little bit from the group as though nervous to come any further. She turned slightly red with all the attention she was getting and it clashed horribly with her hair. She gave a small wave,” hi Mrs Ketchum.”

Mrs Ketchum broke away from the group and marched towards the young woman to envelop her in a hug. Agatha turned to look up at Ash who was smiling at the two women interact happily. Pikachu jumped off his Master’s shoulder and skipped his way to the two and perched himself on Misty’s shoulder.

Mrs Ketchum turned back around to look at Ash, “Misty is going to show me to my room – I’ll talk to you later honey, you can show me where the kitchen is!” Agatha watched with amusement as Ash’s mother and prized Pokémon left with his ex-girlfriend.

“There must be something special about that girl,” Agatha mused loudly and was surprised to hear a definite “yes, there is” from Ash next to her.

Ash was still watching them walk away when Agatha turned to look at him again; he was still smiling and seemed to look happier than he had in days. “You seem to be feeling better, how’s your eye?”

Ash eventually tore himself away from Misty, his mother and Pikachu to look at Agatha, “I am – thanks. My eye is pretty good, I can see out of it now but it’s still sore.”

“Hopefully it will be healed properly by the time you head out, the contracts have all been written up – they will be delivered to everyone’s rooms tonight in order for them to be signed and collected before breakfast.”

Ash gave a nod to show that he understood, Agatha noted that while most of the small group had already dispersed, Professor’s Oak’s grandson was still hanging around. He seemed to be waiting for Ash to finish speaking with her.

“Speaking of breakfast, what does your mother mean by you showing her the kitchen? Is she planning on cooking for everyone or something?” Agatha snorted in amusement and was completely unprepared for Ash’s bald “yes.”

She fixed a glare on the Champion who just smiled down at her, “that is not going to happen.” Ash gave a loud laugh, “I think you’ll find that it will, sorry Agatha, but my mom isn’t the sort to sit around and do nothing.”

Agatha looked appalled, “I will not have a guest under my roof cook for over 100 people!”

Ash grinned, “good luck trying to stop her, I wish I would be here to witness it.”

Agatha sent him a glare, “before you leave you will inform your mother that she is not to go anywhere near the kitchen area.”

“Even if I did that,” Ash said with a smirk, “and even if she listened to me – which I know she won’t, she won’t stop with the cooking. She’ll end up going round the rooms and cleaning them for people, or going outside and pull out weeds in the garden. I told you, my mom can’t sit around and do nothing; it’s not in her nature.”

Agatha looked mutinous and Ash just shook his head, “I respect you Agatha, but this is my mother – I’m a hell of a lot more scared of her than you – this is the woman that gave birth to me. If she wants to cook and clean then let her, she’ll be really happy that she’s helping in some way.”

Before Agatha could argue any further about the subject Ash walked away towards Gary, “hey man – thanks for coming out to greet mom.”

Gary grinned, “no worries – anything for Mrs Ketchum.”

“Suck-up,” Ash joked and Gary pushed him lightly away from him. The two ended up sitting on one of the benches that were scattered through the gardens of the Plateau, Ash stretched briefly as he sat down, “so – you wanted to talk to me about something. Shoot.”

Gary took a seat and stretched out his legs, “was I ever on the cards for your team?” He asked abruptly and Ash turned to look at him in surprise.

Gary met his eyes seriously, “we’ve been friends for a long time Ash – and yeah okay – I was a little dick for a bit,” Ash raised a brow and snorted at that.

“Little?”

Gary ignored him and continued, “I would have thought that, maybe this time around...you would have _picked_ me to go with you.”

Gary stopped for a moment and waited for Ash to say anything, Ash wasn’t looking at him but at the grass at his feet and curling his fingers together, “I know that most of time you just fall into whatever adventure that happens to come along and that you don’t normally get to pick who you go with, but every time you come back with another story, another sighting of Pokémon most people can only dream about, I just – I wondered if you would ever actually pick me to go with you?”

There was a pause before Gary let out a laugh, “well – obviously not considering that you picked Tracey and Clair instead. I get Tracey, Orange Islands and all of that...but _Clair_?”

Ash stayed still and wondered if there was any way he could put his answer that wouldn’t upset Gary, “honestly...no, you were never going into Victory Road with me.”

Ash could see the effect his words had on Gary in his periphery vision, his face had fallen and his furrowed brow had relaxed. Hurt was pouring out from him even though he did his best to hide it. “I bet you have a good reason too?” Gary asked, trying to hide the bitterness with a laugh.

Ash kept watching his friend, Gary was jittery and couldn’t sit still – a sign from his childhood that mean he was on the verge of exploding in anger. Gary didn’t get angry easily, it took a lot to make him lose his temper unlike Lance, but Ash had learnt to read the cues from his friend and his inability to sit still showed how upset Gary actually was at Ash’s confession.

“I get that you are a better Trainer than me now – I came to that conclusion a long time ago, but I’ve known you the longest out of anyone here, other than my grandpa and your mom. I know I’m not the Trainer I once was – but I can help you Ash, my research can help-”

Ash smiled gently as he listened to Gary get more and more agitated, “I know you are a good Trainer Gary,” Ash finally interrupted Gary as he was working himself into a greater frenzy, “in fact – that’s why I’m not taking you with me.”

Gary had stopped at Ash’s interruption and was staring at him in bewilderment; Ash sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “you have known me the longest – out of anyone here, even Brock. I call Lance and Brock my brothers, but truth be told you really are the closest I have to that and it’s why I’m going to ask you...it’s probably one of the most important things I’ll ever ask you..” Ash floundered slightly, “I need you to take care of my mother.”

“What?” Gary’s voice was shaky and the look on his face was full of confusion and Ash rolled his eyes playfully, “it’s not a hard concept to grasp Gary, I need you to take care of my mother...i’m not going to be here and if something happens-”

“If something happens then you are going to want someone stronger than me protecting her, you would want Cynthia or Lance to-”

“Cynthia and Lance are strong yes, but both of them didn’t grow up with Delia Ketchum in Pallet Town, getting random hugs from her, kisses on the forehead and stealing cookies from the windowsill.” Ash interrupted Gary and gave him a pointed stare which finally wrought a smiled from him.

“If I asked, they both would probably do it...but I know them and if given the chance – say my Mom happened to be the ‘cure’ to fix this mess, both of them would hand her over without a second  thought...well I think Cynthia would think about it for a bit, but Lance wouldn’t. You on the other hand? You wouldn’t let anything happen to her, ever.”

Gary smiled and nodded, “you got that right.”

Ash smiled back, “I know I do – which is why I will never ask you to come with me. Consider this a standing favour I’m asking you.”

Gary pondered this for a bit, “what do I get in return?”

Ash eyed him curiously, “what do you want?”

“I’ll let you know.”

Ash laughed, “thank you Gary, really.” He let out a sigh and sat back against the chair, it was still damp from the rain which had stopped a little while ago, but he didn’t care. Everything was slowly falling into place and soon all that would be left would be to leave the relative safety of the Indigo Plateau and head into Victory Road.

“Nervous?”

Ash leaned his head back over the edge of the seat and stared up at the murky grey clouds, “terrified,” he corrected.

Ash heard a rustling next to him and then instead of seeing grey clouds his vision was interrupted by a flash of red, Ash blinked twice and raised his head back up. Gary moved his hand away, the one that held his half of the Pokéball that they shared. Ash did a double take between the proffered half of their Pokéball and Gary’s face.

“Here, take it.” Gary finally grabbed one of Ash’s hands and thrust the half onto it, “I want that back – come hell or high-water. You make sure you get it back to me.”

Ash nodded dimly and clutched at the half, “Gary-”

“And this,” Gary pulled out another Pokéball from one of his pockets, “is from grandpa.” Ash recognised the pink and purple instantly, “that’s a Master Ball! What does he expect me to do with that?”

Gary hesitated, “he said it’s for Pikachu.”

* * *

 

 

_Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning,_

_lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash._

_Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting,_

_alone its song will fail,_

_and thus the earth shall turn to ash._

_O Chosen One,_

_into thine hands bring together all three._

_Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea._

**_-Shamouti Prophecy_ **

Misty stared at the large plaque that hung from the wall; she was in one of the Indigo Plateau’s many libraries and had come across the prophecy that had once deigned Ash as the ‘Chosen One.’

She couldn’t help but smiled to herself, he was always the ‘Chosen One.’ She had found her way down here after leaving Mrs Ketchum alone with Agatha and not wanting to play mediator between the two.

 

Mrs Ketchum had already gone into the kitchens to help prepare for the dinner that evening and Agatha had arrived looking like she was preparing for World War III.

 

It was now well after dinner and even though her stomach was rumbling, Misty didn’t want to leave the library. She had become engrossed with one of the books she had found - A History of the Indigo Plateau and hadn’t stopped until she had finished. When she had finished she went to put the book back where she had found it only to get sidetracked with the plaque in front of her.

 

“Pretty neat, Ash could never remember the damn thing so it’s nice to finally to read the whole thing in its entirety.”

 

Misty jumped and turned around with a hand on her chest, “Brock – don’t sneak up on people like that!”

 

“Sorry Mist,” Brock grinned and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Other than having me frighten you just now – how are you this fine evening? We haven’t really had a chance to talk to one another.”

Misty smiled and pushed some strands of hair out of her face, “no we haven’t but hey, you have definitely been busy preparing for Victory Road and god knows what else Lance may have in store.”

Brock laughed, “yes – between him and Ash I don’t know if I would rather stay here with Lance or follow Ash into the great unknown!”

Misty pulled a face to both options making Brock laugh again, “well, if and when I get back I’ll let you know all about travelling with Ash and you can tell me all about being cooped up with Lance in one space for an indefinite period.”

He had meant it as a joke but Misty’s face still fell nonetheless, “ ‘when’ Brock, it should always be ‘when.’”

Brock grimaced, “sorry – but knowing the things we do...it’s kind of hard to think positively, even Ash is having a hard time.”

Misty nodded, “I know.”

Brock appraised her, “do you mean you know the things we do, or you know Ash is having a hard time?”

Misty let out a wry grin, “I seriously question whether Lance trusts me enough to tell me all that he no doubt told Ash – and subsequently you. But before you leave, if you get the chance, you should let Lance know that people are whispering.”

Brock nodded, “I’ll do that – you do realise he will want to know who told me?”

Misty chucked, “I’m not afraid of the Dragon Master, but in regards to Ash - you can see it written all over him, the way he responds to people, he doesn’t smile as much, even Pikachu avoids him sometimes. I’m worried for him Brock.”

“I’ll take care of him Misty, I always do.” Brock shoot her two thumbs up and Misty shook her head despairingly, “and who will take care of you? And Tracey? And Clair? You say you will take of Ash and I believe you, but he will try and take care of the three of you and it will be his undoing.”

Her brow was furrowed and she looked entirely serious, “he has the weight of the world on his shoulders Brock – this is different than anything he’s ever done. You know Ash, probably better than I do! He’s not a planner, this isn’t his style – he hates all of this. Why didn’t you stop him?”

Misty suddenly stopped and raised her hands slightly before pushing them back to her sides with a deep breath in and out, “I’m sorry, I sound like I’m blaming you and I really shouldn’t be. This is none of your fault.”

Brock nodded, “no it’s not – but I get it. I tried though, I really did try to stop him from going, but once he’s got an idea in his head and Lance pushing him from behind...you’re right. He does hate all of what’s happening, but he also believes that he’s the best person for the job and, to be honest, he is. “

He walked over to her and pulled her into a one armed hug, “and as for me knowing him better than you...I don’t think so. I know what you two were up to,” he sent her a cheeky grin, raised eyebrows and all. Misty blushed and pushed him away, “I didn’t mean like that, besides...it’s been a while. He’s probably changed a lot.”

Brock clucked his tongue, “since you left? Yeah, he has changed.”

Misty let out a sigh and closed her eyes, she had wondered when he was going to bring up her leaving, it surprised her to be honest, she thought he would have sought her out sooner.

She stood side face with her face in profile, half in shadow and half in light. “Why don’t you just ask what you really came to see me about Brock?” She turned her back on him and looked back up at the prophecy.

Brock shrugged, “alright then. I’m not going to ask you why you left; it seems redundant at this point. But – like I said, _if_ we don’t return I want to go in with no regrets and I’ve been pondering this for a couple of years now.”

Misty scoffed and looked over her shoulder, her arms were wrapped around her middle tightly, “ask away. If you’re not going to ask me why I left then I have to wonder why you are here at all.”

Brock narrowed his eyes and did his best to meet her eyes, wanting to catch any small changes in her face.

“When you left, were you pregnant?”

* * *

 

 

It was still raining the next day when Ash and company stepped out of the Indigo Plateau; most people had come out to watch them exit through the gates. It was just the Professor’s, Elite Four members and Gym Leaders that were down by the gates, the rest of those staying in the Indigo Plateau had made their way to where he and Lance had been two nights before.

Ash let the way with a solemn Pikachu on his shoulder, waiting by the gates was his mother, Dawn, Paul, Agatha, Forrest, Cynthia, Gary and the Professors. The rest had fanned out in a V shape, he smiled and nodded to everyone that he could, he shared a fist bump with both Volkner and Flint and Whitney had given him a hug that almost broke his bones.

Once he got to the gates he was addressed by Agatha as his mother fussed over him, “Lance will be waiting at the entrance for you.”

Ash raised an eyebrow, “you trust him that close to Victory Road?” Agatha walked forward and placed one gnarled hand on his shoulder, “I trust him to do what is right, as I do with you. Come back safe Ash Ketchum.”

It was the first time she hadn’t used his title since he had received it and he couldn’t help but grin slightly. Cynthia came forward and gave him a hug, “my sanity relies on you getting out of there in one piece, my grandparents would roast me alive if anything happened to you. Be cautious and be safe.”

Brock was getting a hug from his brother, Clair was saying goodbye to Cynthia and Tracey was running over everything again to the Professor’s in case he had missed something.

Dawn was already slightly teary from saying goodbye to Brock, “you don’t deserve a hug,” she told Ash who just laughed and walked closer, “I’m going to take one anyway.”

He could feel her tears come through on his shoulder as she cried, Paul had been standing behind her and he mouthed ‘I’ll look after her’ to Ash who grinned and moved his fist forward, Paul bumped his fist against Ash’s.

Ash turned to see Gary, Professor Oak and his mom all standing next to each other and smiling. Ash pulled Gary into a hug surprising his one-time rival, “I’ll do my best to bring it back – I promise.”

Releasing Gary from a hug Ash turned to Professor Oak, there was a slight awkwardness hanging between them but cheerful as ever regardless, the Professor gave Ash his best smile “good luck Ash, be –oomph!”

For a minute Ash chose to forget all that the Professor had done to him and pulled him into a hug as well, the Professor was tense for a few seconds and then he realised what was happening. Oak let out a smiled and returned the hug warmly, “be safe Ash.”

Ash nodded, “take care of yourself and mom and Gary too.”

“I will, when you get back – we will talk.”

Ash nodded again and pulled out of the hug, he didn’t look at Professor Oak and instead turned to look at his mother who was smiling serenely at her son. Clair, Tracey and Brock were already done with their goodbyes and had passed through the gates waiting for him patiently.

“I’ll be seeing you soon Ash,” Delia whispered into her son’s ear as she pulled him into a tight hug, “you sure you have enough underpants?”

Ash laughed loudly and hugged her tighter in response, “love you Mom.”

Once he finally released her, he strode out passed the gates and the group headed down a small dirt path towards Victory Road.

It took them about forty-five minutes to reach the entrance on foot, Ash hadn’t turned back once –knowing that the one other face he wanted to see hadn’t been in the crowd.

He shoved it to the back of his mind and waved as Lance came into view, he was sitting on one of the boulders outside of the entrance, the rock had already been removed and his Dragonite was standing guard.

“Welcome, to Victory Road.” Lance got up from the boulder and gestured to the entrance which was nothing but a big black hole of nothing. He walked over to the group and each handed them a small tubular device, “this is an alert for us back in the Indigo Plateau, if you press the small red notch on the top it will let out a signal telling us you are (a) either in trouble or (b) you are back here at the entrance and want to be let out.”

“Hold on –you’re shutting the door behind us?” Clair asked incredulously.

Lance nodded, “we can’t leave it open – we don’t know what’s in there and we don’t want anything getting this close to the Plateau as long as we can help it.”

“Fair enough I suppose; anything else we should know?” Brock asked feeling antsy about being so close to Victory Road and not actually being inside it.

Lance nodded again, “the alerts – we don’t know how far into Victory Road they will work till. Like we said with the maps you have, no one has fully explored all of Victory Road before, stick to the guided path, do not venture too deep unless you are certain you can get out. Do not separate and for the love of god, don’t tempt fate.”

With that said and done Lance drew Clair in for a hug, “be vigilant cousin.”

“You too, don’t do anything too stupid while I’m away,” she sent a vicious grin his way and grabbed Tracey by the arm to pull him towards the entrance doorway.

Brock grinned at Lance, “so the sticking to the path thing – was that Lance talking or The Champion.”

Lance smirked, “if it was me talking I would say hang the map and screw the rules, explore the whole thing from top to bottom and find us answers.”

Brock mock bowed, “we shall do our best. Be quick about it Ash, we will have to get a move on if we want to cover any ground before we rest.”

Ash nodded and Brock left him and Lance to join the duo at the entrance, “screw the map, huh?” Ash asked and Lance threw up his thumb casually, “whatever works.”

Ash clapped a hand on Lance’s shoulder and laughed before setting off towards the entrance, as he got closer he double checked off everything in his mind, what he had in his bag, the Pokémon at his belt and the familiar weight on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his hat briefly before taking that first step into Victory Road and letting the darkness of the cave swallow him up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first arc is finished. *Lets off streamers and fireworks.*
> 
> Yay – end of the Summit arc and now onto the Victory Road arc and more information about what is going on. Here is where the story will change slightly – I will now have to go back and forth through other people’s thoughts and feelings, rather than it just predominately being Ash, Brock’s, Agatha’s and Lance’s. 
> 
> The reason for this is because obviously with characters being in different places, then we need to see things through their eyes – and for those that have wanted to see more of Misty well...this chapter notwithstanding (did you see that coming? Probably...) she will definitely feature a bit more now, never fear. 
> 
> Apologies for the lateness of this chapter, it’s a big transition chapter and I found it quite hard to try and balance the emotion because I needed the maturity there as well. Having people just yell at each other isn’t constructive and I think I needed to sow a few seeds first – besides that kind of yelling needs to be built up a little more (which it most definitely will be.) 
> 
> And again, I apologise – this chapter is almost a month late. I blame work. (Phone has been friggen nonstop, people are away, covering masses amounts of work and people just being right...jerks.) *Sigh* I can’t promise that this next chapter won’t be the same amount of time, but I will do my best to get it in under a month! 
> 
> As always, thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and co in Victory Road and plans afoot in the Indigo Plateau

Lance watched his Dragonite shift the large rock back into place over the entrance to Victory Road, the sound of the rock fitting into place with a crunch was final and slightly relieving in some ways.

He stood outside the entrance for a long while; letting the dust settle and taking in the minor victory he had just achieved. He had let Dragonite enjoy herself out of her Pokémon as he delayed his inevitable return to the Plateau, he had been at the Indigo Plateau for just over five months, one more month and it would be longest he had stayed there since his inception as the Johto League Champion.

It was the longest he had stayed in one place with good plumbing for a while, usually he would be out exploring for months at a time, or (not that he would ever admit it) lost in one of the region’s many caves while training himself and his Pokémon.

As much as he enjoyed his creature comforts, he enjoyed roughing it as well. However too much of the former and he became restless, bored and irritable. He was surprised that he had managed to not unleash his frustration on anyone yet; arguably his ‘conversation’ with Ash was 50% frustration at being cooped up in one place and the other 50% was his feelings of betrayal.

He didn’t know where his wanderlust came from, as far as he knew no member’s of his immediate family or the Clan were like he was. His mother and father had lived and died in Blackthorn as had Clair’s parents and now Clair herself was the Gym Leader of the city, tied there until she decided to pass it on to someone else, if she ever would before her death. Occasionally, due to her Gym Leader status, Clair would head out to other conferences and other meetings with the rest of the Gym Leaders, but she would always return in the specific time frame.

Clair claimed herself to be a ‘rebel’, but she mistook her stubbornness and inability to admit her mistakes as being someone who ‘marched to her own drum.’ When it came down to it, if the Clan Elders told her to jump, she would ask how high?.

In the next couple of day’s there would be a mass exodus from the Plateau as Gym Leaders headed out to the towns and cities all over the regions. The Professor’s were all convening at Professor Oak’s Lab to begin testing, some of the Trainers, Coordinators and Breeders were heading out with the Gym Leaders and the rest would stay in the Indigo Plateau to help the Kanto Elite Four go through the many books in their Libraries.

Other members of the other regions Elite Four would head to their own conference halls to gather any information possible, the time period was two week’s maximum. If nothing was to be found in that time then they would all come back to the Indigo Plateau and another Summit would be held.

 Lance himself would head to Blackthorn in Clair’s absence to try and find more information. He was dreading it to say the least, but it was better that he go rather than Clair. Clair would have released every shred of information to them that she had, Lance didn’t want to tell the Blackthorn Clan anything other than “I need your library, don’t disturb me.”

It wouldn’t be as easy as that obviously, but Lance didn’t want the Clan to use this information to stir any discord and start using it to their advantage. After what the Clan had done to his parents, Lance had vowed to never help or trust them again. It was the one part of his history that he had never told anyone – not even Ash or Agatha. As far as Lance was concerned it would stay buried, he would take it to the grave with him, but not before he completely eradicated any hope of the Clan system regaining power again, especially Clan Blackthorn.

Lance took a deep breath in and rolled his head in a circle, he unclipped Dragonite’s ball from his belt and then, thinking the better of it, clipped it back on and called out to his Pokémon. Seeing that he had his Pokémon’s attention, Lance gestured to the Indigo Plateau and turned around to start walking back to the gates.

He felt the breeze from the flap of Dragonite’s wings as she flew over him and lazily started gliding through the air in front of him, occasionally twisting and turning. Lance grinned as he watched his Pokémon relax and enjoy her time with him. He must be feeling more relaxed than he thought, Pokémon were in tuned to their Master’s feelings and emotions, if he had been feeling overwrought then Dragonite wouldn’t be flying as she was. She would probably be walking next to him and slapping him with her tail every now and again to try and get him out of his funk.

While he walked he mused over all that had happened in the last couple of months and what he had been told before he left. Brock had sought him out on the morning of the group’s departure and had informed of what Misty had said the night before.

Lance knew that there would be talk, it wasn’t surprising but he needed to know what was being said, his lip curled at the thought of asking Misty for help. After what she did to Ash, Lance didn’t consider her to be the most trustworthy person and she probably felt the same way in regards to him. However they had once been good friends and once upon a time, she had made the man he considered a brother the happiest Lance had ever seen him, happier even than when he had any of his titles.

For that reason alone, Lance couldn’t bring himself to fully hate Misty. She had implied to Brock that she was willing to help Lance find out who was saying what, but he would have to be the one that initiated that particular conversation. Lance briefly entertained the idea of getting Agatha to do it, but she was already run-down enough, doing and worrying about too many things she shouldn’t be.

As the gates eventually came into view Lance slowed his pace, at the moment the Indigo Plateau felt and looked more like a cage, a beautiful cage filled with too many people that he was going to have to interact with and whom he would no doubt lose his patience with very quickly. There were a few that he could deal with on a long-term basis, Agatha, Cynthia, and Bruno to an extent, but the rest of them could leave as quickly as they came as far as he was concerned.

He wasn’t a snob, but some of the inane Trainers that tried to take on the Gym Leaders that he had met while travelling, they didn’t even bother with the basics. Most of them lost their first match and then had the gall to blame their Pokémon.

Lance knew it shouldn’t surprise him, there would no doubt be Trainers like that from his and Ash’s generation, he would have been too busy training like mad to pay attention to anyone else. Nowadays he looked at Trainers out of curiosity, to see if there were any new techniques he could learn from them and anything he could possibly teach them.

In the years that had passed since Ash had beaten him, no one else had come close. The furthest anyone had come in a while was beating Lorelei, after that they had all lost their following matches to Bruno. If it wasn’t for the fact that his presence was required at the Johto and Kanto Conferences he would have only come back if someone made it far as Agatha and that was probably only to enjoy watching their sound defeat.

Part of him wondered if he had become complacent in his training, if there was something more he could do. Battling anyone other than members of the Elite Four didn’t give him much of a challenge, plus he had won so often now that many of the Elite Four no longer wanted to battle him, ‘it would give him too much satisfaction’ Cynthia had once said, even though she had beaten him once.

Arguably he had been roaring drunk at the time and it had only been just, he still considered it a loss even though she didn’t.

There were two people currently that he knew of who could beat him, one was currently in Victory Road and the other, who hadn’t replied to his summons, Lance didn’t know where he was and he didn’t particularly care.

Lance knew why Ash didn’t want to challenge him; he was waiting till being allowed back into the Kanto League, he wanted their next battle to be the one for the title of Champion of Kanto. Lance respected that – even though he wasn’t really the Champion, but Ash didn’t need to know that. Besides, the real Champion had been absent for so long most people had forgotten all about him.

Being considered the unofficial Champion of a region was a good feeling, but Lance knew what it felt like being the Champion of the region you were born in, when he had won in Johto he had felt invincible and to this day he had and would continue to fight tooth and nail to keep his title. Lance wanted Ash to win Kanto, he wouldn’t make it easy for his friend, but he wanted Ash to win all the same.

It was probably why Ash refused the titles for Sinnoh, Hoenn and Johto, he was waiting for that ever-elusive title that he really wanted. It would also give him an excuse to stay in one place for indefinite period of time, but then go out and travel whenever he felt the urge to. It really was a sweet set-up that Lance had often abused to the distress the other Elite Four, but Cynthia and Steven were the same. Each of them always disappeared for lengths at a time, not telling anyone where they were going and then popping up randomly some months later like nothing had happened.

“Everything went well I take it?”

Lance jumped slightly and stopped dead in his tracks, he looked around to find that he was inside the gates to the Plateau and Agatha was outside waiting for him. He frowned at her “it’s cold – you should be inside.”

“As should you,” she returned.

Lance rubbed a hand over his face and called his Dragonite to him, she was looking put out at seeing the Pokéball in his hand. He smiled, “I promise – in the next day or so I’ll take you to the beach and we have some fun training, okay?”

His Dragonite raised her head and eventually nodded before letting herself go back inside the Pokéball.

“You spoil your Pokémon,” Agatha noted as he fell into step next to her. Lance didn’t bother retorting to that, if to love his Pokémon meant he spoiled them a bit, he would gladly do so for the rest of his life.

“Everything went well.” He addressed her first question, “they are inside, as prepared as we can possibly make them.”

“And you are here,” Agatha said frankly.

Lance nodded and held the door open for her, “and I am here.”

They didn’t address the subject further and carried on into the dining area where people were sitting. They made their way up the stairs to the second level and sat down at one of the tables.

“What do you feel like eating?” Lance asked Agatha once she had gotten comfortable, she waved a nonchalant hand indicating she didn’t care and Lance got up to go and fill up their trays.

He waited in line for a few minutes before he heard a gentle ‘ahem’ sound followed by a tug on his sleeve. He rolled his eyes and turned around to address whoever was trying to get his attention but stopped short in shock.

Jasmine was looking up at him smiling nervously, “good evening Master Lance.” She bobbed her head slightly in greeting and he just stood there dumbly, frowning at her like an idiot.

She swallowed slightly, “sorry to interrupt you at dinner, but you are a hard man to track down and I wanted to catch you before you disappeared.”

He continued staring at her, not saying anything which made her glance around nervously before setting her jaw and meet his eyes, “I would like to ask a favour of you.”

He was in the middle of trying to decide what colour her eyes where when he was bumped into from behind, he was pushed out of the line and into Jasmine herself. He pulled her to him by the arms and steadied her so that she wouldn’t fall backwards and when they righted themselves, he found her closer to him than he would have liked.

He immediately thrust her away from him and muttered some vague form of apology before jerking his head over to a corner of a room where there were no people. Once he had got there he turned around to see that Jasmine had not followed him, he looked around to see her still in the same place, hands on her hips and was glaring at someone in line.

Following the look on her face and her gesturing towards him, Lance saw that she was scolding the person that had pushed him out of line. He smiled slightly to himself as Jasmine finally noted that he was looking at her and after she had given one more glare to the young trainer in line she rushed over to join Lance in the corner.

“Sorry-”

She had started to apologise and Lance held up a hand, “no need – nicely done by the way.” He gestured to the line and she blushed lightly while tucking some hair behind her ear.

“This favour you wanted of me?” Lance initiated and Jasmine clapped her hands together and nodded, “yes – and don’t worry, it’s not to do with the wedding.” She laughed nervously at her little joke while Lance soured slightly at the reminder.

“Uh, I live in Olivine City – which of course you already know, stupid Jasmine, talking to the Champion of Johto here. Um, well Falkner” Lance did his best to not roll his eyes at the name, “has asked his father for help in gaining information regarding what’s going on in Victory Road, you probably also already know that he asked Master Agatha for permission to inform his father and was granted it, on the basis that his father was once a Gym Leader himself?”

He did know, he was the one that argued with Agatha to let it happen on the basis Jasmine just mentioned.

“Falkner only asked because he figured if he could get his father to do that, then he could volunteer the use of his bird Pokémon to ferry people back and forth to their prospective towns a lot faster.”

Lance nodded again, wondering where was taking her little speech and whether or not he would ever find her nervousness not endearing.

“Falkner has volunteered to ferry people throughout Kanto and Hoenn to help out Sabrina who is going to Teleport as many people as she can. As I understand it, from what I’ve heard and been told, you volunteered with your Dragon’s to help in Johto-”

“And you would like a lift to Olivine City.” Lance finished for her abruptly and Jasmine nodded silently. “Why didn’t you just ask Will? He’s teleporting as well; it would probably be a lot quicker than waiting for me.”

As soon as he had spoken Lance clenched his fists and resisted the urge to punch himself in the head for his rudeness and stupidity. His tone had been short and he had spoken to her like she was an idiot, which she obviously wasn’t.

She was now staring at her shoes and laughed a little to try and rid the moment of its immense awkwardness, “I would have – I probably should have instead of bothering you. It’s just that I don’t like teleporting, I’m sorry I should have realised that you were probably going to be very busy. Please just forget I asked.”

With that she turned quickly and started to walk away, Lance immediately reached out a hand to grab her wrist and wrenched her back around to face him. Upon seeing her shocked face at his strength he immediately let go of her wrist.

He floundered slightly, “I didn’t mean to be rude – I just...look I would be happy to take you, it’s just-”

“Oh no, really I’ll just walk to Pallet and catch a small ferry from there, it won’t be a prob-”

Lance took in a deep breath and placed his hands heavily on her shoulders; she stopped her rambling apologies immediately and looked down at her feet. “I don’t mind taking you - taking the ferry will take ages, time we don’t have to waste and you don’t like teleporting. I will take you to Olivine, but we may have to take a slight detour first.”

“It’s really alright Master Lance, I shouldn’t have bothered you.” She tried again to defer him, “honestly I don’t mind catching the ferry and I mean really, what are we possibly going to find in Olivine? It’s all sailors’ myths and sea monsters.” She mimed claws and sharp teeth to get her point across and he couldn’t help but laugh.

He removed his hands from her shoulders and let them hand by his side, he smiled at her “I’ll take you, I just have to take a couple of people to Sinnoh before you and if I can’t get back in time, would you mind spending some time in Blackthorn?”

She looked at him curiously and he elaborated further, “the Blackthorn Clan are pretty secretive about what information they have hidden away in their shrine and I’ve had to send them a letter to book in a time period to go in there.” He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, “I only get a couple of days to go over as much as possible, to be honest you would probably be helping me out a lot by coming with me. In return, I’ll take you to Olivine and help you out there.”

Jasmine furrowed her brow, “doesn’t Blackthorn have a public library?”

Lance shook his head, “nope – everyone has their own books and we all borrow from each other, but when it comes to stuff like this, we only have the shrine.”

She nodded in understanding and after that they stood there silently before Lance asked, rather awkwardly “so, is that okay?”

“Oh! Yes – it sounds great. If you’re sure?”

Lance nodded and smiled, slightly relieved that he hadn’t completely embarrassed himself, “okay so we should probably leave just before one, I’ll meet you out outside the gates at about five to?”

Jasmine nodded and let out a happy smile, “thank you Master Lance!” She turned to leave again and he grabbed her wrist again – this time more gently. She looked back and he kept hold of her hand, “you can just call me Lance.”

She looked scandalized at the suggestion and he laughed loudly while dropping her hand, “really – it’s not a big deal. Actually, people are only meant to use it in formal situations – it doesn’t have to be used all the time.”

Jasmine looked surprised, “really? So all this time you’ve just let people use it to make yourself seem more important?”

“No!” Lance immediately went on the defensive and then he noticed her mischievous smile, he rolled his eyes and gave her a mock glare, “you’re teasing me.”

She smiled brighter and backed away carefully, “i’ll see you tomorrow Lance.” With that she darted off, leaving him standing in the corner of the dining area smiling like a fool.

When he got back to Agatha she was glaring at him, “you weren’t chatting with Delia Ketchum were you?” She asked darkly.

Lance laughed loudly and shook his head, Agatha’s annoyance towards anything Delia Ketchum said or did was extremely amusing, Ash’s mother did have an uncanny ability to get under Agatha’s skin in ways that no-one had ever achieved.

“No, I was just talking to Jasmine,” Lance was smiling down at his food and missed Agatha’s look of surprise directed his way. “She needed a lift to Olivine, I told her she could come with me to Blackthorn for a bit and then we’d go to Olivine and I would help her out there.”

“She’s engaged Lance,” Agatha’s reply was sharp, a warning.

Lance looked up and could see the worry in Agatha’s face, he stabbed gently at his pasta and smiled sadly, “yeah I know and I won’t forget it. Don’t worry. Besides, you said it yourself – that I should take someone with me to Blackthorn. It just seemed to fall into place neatly.”

He grinned at Agatha, “I told her she should have asked Will to teleport her.”

Agatha raised an eyebrow at that and smiled a bit, “why didn’t she?”

Lance took a bite of his food making Agatha grimace as he spoke with it in his mouth, “hates teleporting.”

“Fair enough, I don’t enjoy it myself. You be careful while you’re in Blackthorn.”

The last bit of her sentence was stilted and it made Lance smile, “don’t worry Agatha – I have everything under control.”

* * *

 

 

Jasmine hummed to herself as she packed her bag for tomorrow, she wasn’t packing much because she knew she wouldn’t be in Olivine for long. Most of their books were nautical themed, myths about the sea and great adventures of how people came across Olivine. She seriously doubted whether she would find anything interesting or anything related to what was going on in Victory Road.

She looked down at her open backpack and mentally checked off everything she needed, she hadn’t want to pack too heavily for her trip, thinking of the welfare of the Pokémon she would be flying on.

She felt a little thrill run through her, she loved the feeling of flying and being on one of Falkner’s bird Pokémon, she felt so light and free. However, the thought of flying with a Dragon Pokémon was so exciting.

She had heard rumours that they could reach supersonic speeds and while they probably wouldn’t be going that fast, the potential thought of doing so made her do a little happy dance to herself.

She had been so nervous in confronting the Dragon Master; he was extremely elusive and didn’t seem to enjoy the company of a lot of people. He was also something of a legend in his own right, coming from an extremely prestigious Clan background and following that up with many victories and his eventual culmination of becoming the Johto League Champion.

He was intimidating to say the least, but Falkner had pushed her to ask him because he didn’t want her on the ferry from Pallet. He had insisted that Master Lance wasn’t as scary as he seemed which she hadn’t believed until her chat with him today.

Because of his tendency to wander off to god knows where, Lance had been put in charge of all the Gym Leaders of the Johto and Kanto regions. Usually as the Champion of the Johto region he would be more involved in the activities regarding the Indigo Plateau and the planning of the next Conference, however with his penchant for travelling it had become clear that Lance was not interested in that side of his title.

Thus Agatha had made the decision to switch responsibilities with Lance, which suited him well. He only did the Kanto Gyms because the Kanto Champion was no longer in contact with the members of the Elite Four and it allowed him a wider range of places to go with a good excuse.

Since Lance had become the Johto Champion he had only visited her Gym for inspection once, it had been when she inherited the Gym from the Gym Leader before her and as such, it was mandatory that the Gym be checked due to the changeover.

It had been a couple of years after Lance had become the Champion and the rumours about him had made her nervous, he had been highly idolized by the public and while some of the stories she knew were too fanciful to be true, others she believed and found herself slightly caught up in hero-worship in her youth.

The meeting had been brief; she had been standing outside waiting for his arrival – he arrived precisely on time and at a high speed making her cry out and her skirt fly up. Slightly flustered she put on her best smile and held out her hand only to find him staring at her blankly.

They hadn’t said much, or rather he didn’t. He asked her to show her around and asked a few questions about the health and well-being of her Pokémon and her win rate so far. Mostly it had been Jasmine jabbering on nervously with the Dragon Master stoically listening and nodding every now and then.

It had taken about half an hour all up and after mentioning that he would send through a report, he released his Dragonite again and flew away, his beacon of red hair very quickly turning into a speck in the distance.

That had been the only time he had ever come to her Gym, inspections were held annually generally speaking – however most of the time it had been Agatha coming to inspect the Olivine Gym. In all her years of maintaining the Gym nothing had ever gone wrong and she had never had she received less than a glowing report, but still she wasn’t to see Master Lance in her Gym again.

An explanation had never been given and Jasmine had first assumed when it was Agatha who had showed up to inspect her Gym, that Master Lance was too busy to make it all the way out to Olivine. She had taken that in stride; after the third time Agatha had shown up she had mentioned casually to Whitney how busy Lance must have been, only to hear that the “gorgeous hunk of man-meat” always inspected her Gym every year, without fail.

Slightly confused, Jasmine had asked around and found that her Gym was the only one not visited by the Dragon Master. It was something that had gnawed at her for ages and it was only after Falkner had proposed to her that she had told him her fears. He had been just as confused as she was, but had urged her to ask all the same – something she planned to do while in Blackthorn.

She had tried to talk to him at the Johto Conferences, but usually found that he was inaccessible during those times. She also had planned on travelling to the Indigo Plateau and confronting him there, but had quickly shut that down upon realising that he probably wouldn’t be there anyway.

It was the perfect chance for her in Blackthorn, to find out and potentially fix whatever she may have said or done.

Jasmine zipped up her bag feeling comfortable that she had everything in there, she picked it up and moved it over to the wall to sit next to Falkner’s, which she had packed earlier. He was currently in a meeting with Lance, Will, Drake, the twins Tate and Liza, Winona, Lucian and Sabrina to organise themselves travel-wise. Many of those that had come to the Summit – especially the Trainers – had their own Pokémon to ferry them, however Leaders like herself who didn’t have the use of such a Pokémon, were relying upon other’s to get them where they needed to go.

In her case, other than Will and his teleportation the only other choice was Lance. Sabrina was teleporting people to the farther regions of Kanto with Lance helping to fly a few to where they needed to go. Tate, Liza and Winona were taking care of Hoenn, Drake and Lucian were working together to get people to Sinnoh.

Lance and Will were taking care of Johto which made them the only viable option for her and Lance by default as teleporting was something that sent shivers down the back of her spine. She knew she would be one of the last to leave the Indigo Plateau and found she didn’t mind it, the quiet and solitude was something she missed and while they were staying in rather opulent surroundings, the thought of being able to visit home was immensely comforting.

Jasmine was jolted out of her thoughts by the door to her room opening with a loud crash as it hit the wall and left a dark mark on the wallpaper. “Falkner-?”

“I hate that guy!” Falkner seethed as he stalked into the room and paced back and forth in the same spot agitatedly.

Jasmine got up and closed the door gently before making her way over to Falkner and gently placing a hand on his arm, “what happened?”

Falkner stopped and sighed heavily, “the _Dragon Master_ happened,” he spoke Lance’s title darkly. Jasmine smiled slightly, while Falkner was polite and jovial towards Lance in general and he claimed that Lance wasn’t as scary as he seemed, often the two would butt heads.

Many a time after Lance had inspected Falkner’s Gym there would be comments in his report on how to improve things. A perfectionist to the core, Falkner found the comments, small and helpful though they were, condescending in nature.

Jasmine didn’t doubt that if Falkner could have found Lance after the reports had been released then he would have confronted the Dragon Master, however Lance would usually work his way backwards from Blackthorn City which made the Violet City Gym last on the list before he would head to Kanto.

Falkner could not leave the Gym to follow Lance into Kanto, instead he seethed silently and eventually, when he listened to Jasmine and his father, he let the issue go.

“What did he do?”

Falkner snorted and sat down on the bed, pulling Jasmine to sit down beside him. “What didn’t he do? He had everything planned down to the finest detail, how long things should take, and who should do what. It wasn’t a meeting, more like a dictatorship. Much like the Summit was.”

Jasmine pursed her lips and withdrew her hand from Falkner who noticed the movement and looked at her, noticing the look on her face he smiled grimly, “oh come on Jas, you can’t deny that it was rigged – there is no way that anyone would have gone into Victory Road just like that.”

Jasmine shook her head, “I don’t believe that.”

“You choose not to believe that,” Falkner raised an eyebrow at her, “everyone knows that Ash and Lance are good friends, Ash probably knew about everything before he even arrived at the Summit.”

Jasmine shook her head, “that’s against the rules – and you can say what you like, but you know as well as I do that Lance is a stickler for the rules.” She threw a pointed look back at Falkner who rolled his eyes, flopped back heavily on the bed and closed his eyes. 

He waved a nonchalant hand, “Lance has been in a position of power for his entire life, he may be a ‘stickler’ for the generic rules, but I guarantee you he’s not above doing something against the rules to get the outcome he wants.”

Jasmine let out a sigh, “all I know is that I did not want to go into Victory Road and regardless when or what Ash knew, I’ll be forever grateful for him volunteering.”

Falkner opened one eye to see Jasmine looking worriedly at their backpacks, he sat up and drew one arm around her, “he’ll be alright you know? There is no-one better than Ash, if anyone can get through Victory Road and back it’s him.”

He squeezed her shoulder for comfort and smiled at her, she smiled back as he got up from the bed to head into the bathroom, once he had shut the door her smile fell again.

As much as she was worried for Ash and his team, there was one thing that people weren’t talking about, that people were afraid to admit to themselves.

What would happen if Ash failed?

* * *

 

 

“I forgot how much I hated this bloody cave,” Ash muttered to himself as he stepped in another puddle, “where does all this water come from anyway?”

Brock grinned next to him, “don’t let Tracey hear you say that, he will probably have an answer for you.”

Ash smirked back and looked ahead to where Tracey was leading the way, with Clair keeping a watchful eye on him. The group had been travelling steadily through the third floor, making their way as quietly and cautiously as they could. It called for slow and careful walking – something that was beginning to irritate Clair.

Pikachu was alert on his shoulder, there had been no signs of odd behaviour but Ash had asked Brock and Tracey to keep an eye on his Pokémon as much as they could and alert him if they saw anything unusual. Thankfully the main areas of Victory Road didn’t require the use of Flash and other than Pikachu, every Pokémon they had was still in their Pokéball.

Tracey had the map on hand and was slowly adding to it as they went along, so far nothing major had been added, just little things and abnormalities to look out for. He had also marked where they had camped for their first night.

It had arguably been one of the worst night’s sleep Ash had ever had, they had interchanged watches so one person was awake at some point, but there was a nervous tension in the air and it made the situation suffocating.

Every scurrying noise that he had heard in the dark, every twitch from Pikachu or rustle from a sleeping bag, all of it had made him on edge. What was worse, they hadn’t come across a single Pokémon since they had started.

“Hey guys!” Brock and Ash hurried over the where Tracey and Clair were waiting and stopped short. Ash raised a brow and peered of the edge of the cliff they were standing on, “I don’t remember this being here, but it has been a while.”

“It’s not on the map and it’s a pretty huge drop,” Tracey mused while peering into the fathomless chasm. “I reckon it’s probably new, or at least, newish.”

Brock picked up a small stone and casually tossed it in; they waited for a good minute in silence and heard nothing, no impact whatsoever.

“Well, that was helpful.” Clair said sarcastically while looking around, “I can’t see any way to cross over it – are you sure there is nothing on the map?” Without waiting for a reply from Tracey, Clair snatched the map from his hands and looked over it.

“Well we have three options, one is we double back and find a way to cross or go around it, two we use our Pokémon to help us cross, or three...we head on down to see what’s what.”

Clair lifted her head from the map to stare at Brock, she thrust the map back at Tracey without care and addressed Brock as though he had three heads, “you can’t be serious – there is no way I’m heading down there.”

Brock just raised an eyebrow at her, “well then – depending on what Ash’s choice is – we may or may not see you back at the entrance later.”

Clair’s nostrils flared as her temper grew; she opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Ash raising a hand, “enough!”

Clair hesitated but ended up shutting her mouth and glaring mutinously at Brock, “all three are options we may have to take – but in the interest in saving time, I say we use our Pokémon to help get us across and continue exploring that way.”

“Aw, but Ash – you really don’t want to see what’s down there?” Tracey asked imploringly, his innate curiosity coming out while he looked down into the dark depths.

Ash smiled and unhooked a Pokéball from his waist, “of course I do – but we only have two weeks in here and I want to cover as much ground as possible, let’s cover as much as we can of Victory Road – Bayleef!”

With a toss of his Pokéball, Bayleef was released and she immediately made her way over to Ash for a pat and cuddle. “Hey girl, fancy helping us out and using Vine Whip to move us over to the other side?”

His Pokémon nodded immediately placed herself in position near the edge of the cliff, “all right Tracey – you’re first, then Clair, Brock and I’ll go last.”

Tracey immediately moved forward and gave Bayleef a pat on the head as thanks; the Pokémon wrapped her vines strongly around Tracey’s waist and gently moved him over to the other side of the chasm.

Once he was sure-footed, Tracey tapped on the vines wrapped around him for Bayleef to release him. Tracey sent a thumbs up to the group on the other side signalling everything was good and Clair stepped up next.

She was partway across the chasm when a loud, echoing booming sound stopped everything. Small rocks on the ground bounced and a few stalactites crumbled down from the ceiling. “Guys...” Clair said nervously as she was still stuck over the large gap.

“Bayleef, move Clair over to the other side quickly!” Ash hissed and Bayleef did as she was told. There was another booming sound and Bayleef lost some of her balance, the Pokémon let out a small cry and tried to find its balance.

Clair was thrust around in the air and she gave a small cry of distress before she was let out of the vines and tumbled towards the edge of the other side. She landed hard on her knees and too close to the edge for her comfort. Tracey quickly dragged her away from the hole while Brock and Ash held onto Bayleef and pulled the Pokémon away from the edge.

Ash fumbled for his Pokéball to return Bayleef, the force of the booming was so much that the floor of the cave was now shaking and the sound was getting louder – Ash made eye-contact with the two on the other side, “hide!”

Tracey nodded and pulled Clair with him to find a safe hiding place while Brock and Ash did the same on their side. The two found themselves crawling underneath two rocks that lay side by side; they couldn’t see Tracey or Clair and could only wait.

The two laid flat on their backs, side by side under the rock with their backpacks up by their heads as rather uncomfortable pillows. Pikachu was burrowed underneath Ash’s jacket and was shivering all over, Ash laid a hand over his Pokémon’s back to try and comfort his Pokémon but found it did little to soothe him.

Suddenly there was silence, the echoing had stopped and there was nothing but the sound of drips of water coming down from the ceiling.

Pikachu was still shivering and Ash turned to look at Brock who shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Ash nodded and stayed as still as possible, he tried to keep his breathing silent and shallow so that he wouldn’t be heard and so that his chest wouldn’t push Pikachu back up against the stone and squash him.

Where they were hiding was just enough to get the three of them in there and there were going to have a hell of a time getting out, if and when the time came.

Suddenly something dropped down heavily next to the rock that Ash was lying under, he turned his head slowly to see what it was, his eyes meet the glassy pair of a dead and mutilated Machoke. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sorry it took so long! As you probably have guessed – I got the new game Pokémon X & Y it’s so much fun! If anyone wants my friend code let me know through a PM. 
> 
> How do people prefer chapters? Would people like me cutting in half – as in focusing on both areas (Victory Road and Indigo Plateau) like I did with this chapter, or just one full chapter in either area?
> 
> For this last scene – If you want some mood listening: I recommend Mountains from Water by Two Steps from Hell. I’m in the process of making a playlist for this fic, if anyone has any recommendations so far – shout out! 
> 
> So the reason this took a while is because it is a transitioning piece – it sets up a lot for this next arc but it’s still quite engaging I think. Again I know – a lack of Misty, too much for some of you – but I promise you guys she is coming in all her fierce glory. She will have more time with Ash in later chapters, but before that we all have to get through Victory Road and figure out what they hell is going on.   
> More on Jasmine this time, she will have little moments here and there because she is important to Lance’s journey in the upcoming arcs. 
> 
> Arc wise – well it can be broken down for anyone that wants it – I have a basic outline in my head (it may change very slightly, depending on what happens in Victory Road.  ) About 10 chapters per arc, give or take a few is my aim, so I’m looking to about 40 chapters on the whole. If that changes I’ll let you guys know. 
> 
> I hope you guys find the pacing okay, I love long stories – but there are those that just drag things out to the point where you just get over it. I try to keep things moving and I hope you enjoy it too. Again, if you have any requests, questions, concerns or anything just let me know and I’ll see what I can do. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash & co in Victory Road...mysteries await. Lance confronts Misty.

Ash didn’t make a sound as he stared into the lifeless eyes of the Machoke in front of him; the acrid smell of blood smothered his senses, he bit his lip harshly to keep from gasping. He hugged Pikachu close to him as the loud thumping sounds started again.

He knew what they were now, footsteps. Footsteps of something or someone slowing walking away from where the three were hiding, they were slow and heavy in gait and Ash knew he should peek to take a glance at whatever was slowly walking away.

Ash rubbed a hand back and forth over Pikachu’s back, the further whatever it was walked away from them; the more Pikachu calmed down and stopped his uncontrollable shaking. Ash gently poked Brock who turned his head towards Ash with a raised eyebrow, Ash gestured for Brock to take Pikachu off his chest and mouthed that he was going to take a look.

Brock shook his head wildly with wide eyes and latched on to Ash’s arm with a very strong grip. Ash tried to implore Brock to let him go with only his eyes but Brock refused to let go and just shook his head firmly.

Eventually the footsteps faded away and the boys decided to start sliding their way out. Ash winced as a particular sharp edge of a small stone got him right in the middle of his back; Pikachu had already darted out and was waiting just in sight.

Shuffling sideways and using the side of the boulders he was under, Ash pushed him out from under the tight space and right into Brock’s feet. The two stopped there for a minute before Brock reached into his pack and withdrew a camera, “I’m going to take a picture of the Machoke on the other side,” Ash nodded tiredly and leaned back against the rock, “Pikachu – don’t follow Brock.”

The mouse Pokémon turned to look at his Master in surprise, Brock nodded “I’ll be as quick as I can – I want to take a few samples too.”

Pikachu tilted his head and scurried over to Ash who reached out a hand to scratch Pikachu between the ears, “sorry buddy. It won’t be a recurring thing – I just don’t want you anywhere near that Machoke.”

After a couple of minutes Brock came back around the boulder, “right – all sorted. What’s next?”

Ash stood up and shrugged his pack on, “now we find Tracey and Clair.” Brock tilted his head and gestured to the trail of large footsteps, “you don’t want to follow behind a ways?”

Ash paused for a second and then shook his head firmly, “no – if it was only me I would in a heartbeat, but we can’t.”

Brock lifted an eyebrow as Ash released Bayleef again, “it’s not that we can’t – but that you won’t.”

* * *

 

 

The knock on her door made Misty jump in surprise, she dropped the shirt she was holding over her small bag and went to the door. “Who is it?” She called cheerfully and when she didn’t receive an immediate reply, her brow furrowed.

She pulled the door open sharply and came face to face with the Dragon Master, his scowl was prominent and he looked like he would rather be anywhere other than where he was.

They had a silent stare down before Lance, not willing to break first spoke, “well? Aren’t you going to let me in?”

“I’m still waiting to see who’s on the other side of my door.” Misty replied baldly.

Lance rolled his eyes and pushed his way in, “hysterical,” he sneered at her and looked around the room suspiciously.

Misty shut the door and crossed her arms, “yes, but you didn’t come here for witty repartee. Nor do I believe you’re here thinking that there is something or some _one_ of interest in my room. ”

“Well, despite some rather questionable actions, generally you were never completely unfortunate in the brains department.”

Misty clenched her jaw, “what is it that you want _Master Lance_?”

“Why did you tell Brock about what people were saying?” Lance finally said abruptly. His back was still to her and he was looking out her window to the view of Victory Road in the distance.

“You mean to ask, why did I tell Brock...or why did I tell Brock instead of Ash?”

“Both,” Lance said awaiting her answer with interest.

Misty uncrossed her arms, “I told Brock because regardless of the past I knew he would believe me and I knew that the information would reach the appropriate channels.” She looked at him pointedly, “as for telling Brock instead of Ash...Ash has more than enough on his plate to worry about, and he and I have...other...things to talk about...when the time comes.”

Lance turned his head so that he could gauge Misty; she was looking at him with a hint of defiance and was fiddling with the ends of her cardigan, the only action giving away her nervousness.

He turned his whole body around, “and when will that be? Once this is all over? You do know that Ash may not even make it out of Victory Road?”

“Yes! I’m quite aware of that, thank you.” Misty finally snapped back at Lance making him grin viciously.

She glared at him and gestured jerkily to the door behind her, “well you got what you came for, now leave! I have packing to do.”

Lance shook his head, “I didn’t get what I came for –not even close. One of these days I will find out exactly why you did what you did, why you hurt someone you once claimed to love so deeply and why you are now acting like nothing ever happened between the two of you.”

His tone was biting and he looked at her like she wasn’t worthy to stand in his presence, a bitter pill for her to swallow when they were once respected friends.

“Until that time however, for I am sure you have a fantastic reason for losing your mind completely, you will inform me of any and all pertinent information regarding coups, hidden information or rumours concerning everyone in the Indigo Plateau.”

Misty scoffed and placed her hands on her hips, “what am I, your spy now? Using Ash wasn’t enough – you have to bring in everyone around you? You’re that paranoid?”

“I’ll expect your first report when I get back from Blackthorn,” Lance dismissed her and started to head to the door, he had his hand on the handle when Misty’s soft warning came from behind him.

“How’s Jasmine?”

That little secret of his had been the only thing that had saved Misty from his complete rage upon finding out what she had done to Ash. He had been ready to completely discharge her as a Gym Leader and was even at the point of revoking her Trainer privileges when she had warned him that if continued in the vein that he was in, she wouldn’t hesitate in telling everyone about his unrequited love for the Olivine City Gym Leader.

While her threat had only made him angrier it served its purpose, from then on he hadn’t done anything to her status as a Gym Leader, the petty side of him had made her jump through a few hoops in the past years to re-register her Gym and when it came time for inspection, despite her having everything perfect, he always managed to find something ridiculous to get her to fix.

Lance gripped the handle tighter, “you know that there will come a time where that will no longer be of any use to you?”

Misty smiled cynically, “just because she’s getting married and is moving on with her life doesn’t mean you won’t love her any less, in fact it may even be more sad should everyone find out – I can only imagine the pity you would receive...”

The thought of anyone pitying him was enough to turn Lance’s very tenuous hold of his anger in the presence of this woman on fire; he turned around with a snarl only to stop to see her looking at a picture frame she had taken out of her bag.

She was stroking the edges and she looked like she was in pain, “people like us Lance, we don’t love lightly. We make the choices that other’s wouldn’t – to keep people happy in the best way we know how...even if others think we are making a big mistake.”

She turned to look at him, her eyes were wet with unshed tears and the light that reflected on the frame made Lance unable to see what image she was holding, although he could take a well-educated guess.

The two red-heads stared at each other for a moment before Lance turned and briskly strode out the door letting it close with a soft click.

* * *

 

Once Brock and Ash were on the other side of the chasm and Bayleef was safely back in her Pokéball, the two started looking around for Clair and Tracey.

They resisted the urge to call the names of their missing comrades and found that a brief search near to where the two had been yielded nothing.

Ash sat down with a heavy sigh and grabbed a drink bottle from his pack; he poured out some for Pikachu and then took a swig himself. “They can’t have gone far – we said to hide, not to run.” Brock looked around impatiently and slightly frustrated.

Ash swallowed, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Tracey followed after whatever it was,” Brock gave him a knowing look, “but you still won’t follow?”

Ash shook his head, “nope – we have more information than what we came in with. There is something in here killing and eating Pokémon. What we don’t know is why, which I intend to do – as far away as possible. Besides – there may be more than one of them; chances are we may run into each other again.”

Brock nodded absently and looked around again, “you don’t think they would have ventured further into Victory Road do you?”

Ash shook his head, “no – I bet you every title I have that they went down.” Ash jerked his head to the chasm a few metres away and Brock widened his eyes, “but – you said we weren’t going to head down there.”

“I did, this is the perfect excuse for Tracey to do a little snooping in places he shouldn’t, and he could never resist just ‘having a look.’” Ash stood up and packed away his bottle, “what we need to find is a rope or a hint or something, Tracey would have left something to show us where he went.”

Ash walked past a rather stunned Brock, “you think he went against what you said to do, he deliberately went down there even though you said not to?”

Ash stopped and turned back to Brock, “you make it sound like I should be angry with Tracey.”

“As you should be – you’re the Leader of this mission if you haven’t forgotten; we are supposed to follow your orders-”

“-and if I had told you to get out there and attack whatever that was with one of your Pokémon, would you have?”

Brock paused, “that’s different.”

Ash gave him a look, “it’s still an ‘order,’ would you have done it?”

Eventually Brock shook his head, “no – because it’s stupid and dangerous and unnecessary – like going down into that Chasm is right now!”

Ash shrugged and continued walking, “well - we don’t actually know that yet – in fact we could come across a holy grail.”

Brock caught up to Ash and stopped it, “Ash - you are missing the point I am trying to make-”

“-and you haven’t travelled with Tracey. I have.”

Brock stopped and waited for Ash to elaborate with a hard look on his face, Ash sighed “Tracey is intuitive and curious by nature; he didn’t go down there, if he did at all, out of disrespect or anything negative towards me. When Tracey has a feeling about something it’s best to follow him and go with it – why else do you think I gave him the map and not you?” Ash shrugged and kept walking to get to the edge of where the abyss began. “Tracey would only have gone down if he could no longer resist it – I needed to know if it was something he could endure or if it was something he just couldn’t help.”

Brock’s brow furrowed, “so let me get this straight – you used Tracey as a sort of a test to see if we should all go down there or heading further into Victory Road?”

Ash nodded before he started walking again, “pretty much.”

Brock let out a choking laugh and followed his friend, “just what have you and Lance been discussing? A book on misdirection and dirty backhanded strategies?”

“Actually, I got this idea from you.”

* * *

 

 

“I still don’t understand why we are down here,” Clair grumbled as she threw on one of the sweaters she had packed.

They were standing on a rocky edge jutting out partway down the inside of the chasm, the rope they had been climbing down still carried on further into the darkness, but for now they had chosen to stop and rest.

The lower they went the colder it had got and Clair was thankful for the chance to put on more layers for herself, “we should have waited for Brock and Ash, we should have hidden somewhere and not just have disappeared down here.”

Tracey shook his head, “Ash will catch-up, he always does. I left him a note.”

Clair snorted, “what? A random carving in a rock? Yeah, I’m sure he will know exactly what it means.”

Tracey didn’t bother to argue with her further, he looked over the edge of the precipice and gazed into the darkness. “Our ropes tied together make about 40 metres long and we still haven’t got to the end – can’t be too far away. We may have gone as far as we can without the others,” he spoke cheerfully and Clair glared at him.

“So what? Now we wait in this damp, dark hold in the ground? Sounds fabulous,” she sneered at him which he chose to ignore, he took out his small sketch book and a pencil he had brought with him. He had only gotten a quick look at what had been lumbering around but was nonetheless determined to make out something of what he had seen.

Clair was fussing around with her sleeping bag trying to get comfortable while Tracey sketched away, he was so engrossed that it took him a couple of minutes to realise Clair was looking at him, in the end she had to throw a pebble at him to get his attention.

“Ow!” Tracey looked up to see Clair burrowed into her sleeping gear, “oh – you’re taking a nap? That’s fine; I’ll stay up and keep watch. No worries Clair!”

He went back to his sketch book and didn’t notice her hesitate; she laid her head down on her pack and watched as Tracey went about sketching.

It was almost soothing to watch him, his pencil darted around the page slowly bringing together what they had seen, the faint sound of his sketching was comforting and she strained to listen to it rather than the shifting of small pebbles and water droplets.

She clutched her hand over the edge of her sleeping bag, “do you know what it is?” she asked softly. Tracey stopped sketching and then took a brief look at what he had drawn, “no – actually” he let out a laugh, “not a clue, but I may when I’m finished or I get a proper look at it.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” Clair asked sharply, “I mean we have no idea what this is and you – you just popped up to have a look at it without any thought for your own life - or my life! What if whatever it was had turned around and seen you? What then? Is your life really worth that sketch?”

Tracey looked at her briefly and then put his pencil down, “of course I’m afraid, it’s okay to be scared Clair.”

She let out a scoff, and rolled onto her back “it’s only people that run away who say that.” Tracey furrowed his brow in confusion and opened his mouth to ask her what she meant when a loud roar echoed throughout the cave. Tracey stood up immediately, dropping his pencil and pad to the floor as the ferocious sound slowly faded, Clair was sitting up still in her sleeping bag and was looking alarmed.

“I think we should get out of here,” she said shakily. “We don’t know where that came from – above or beneath us and I don’t want to stick around to find out!”

She immediately wriggled out of her sleeping bag and began to pack her things, “no – we stay where we are,” Tracey contradicted her and sat back down again while grabbing his pen and pad, Clair stopped packing and turned to look at Tracey incredulously, “are you insane?” She hissed at him.

Clair stood up and threw down her half rolled sleeping bag before stomping over to Tracey, “hey! Not a rhetorical question! Have you lost your mind? We can’t stay here – we could be killed – or turned into mutant zombie people!”

“Or – we could be perfectly safe where we are and we wait patiently for Ash and Brock,” Tracey looked at Clair pointedly, “however – if you find you want to go out on your own, feel free. Don’t let me stop you.”

Clair took a deep breath in and clenched her fists in frustration, “get moving Sketchit. I’m not getting killed because of your indifference to the situation. This isn’t a game or drawing camp!”

“No, it’s not but I’m also not moving from a perfectly safe location because you’re terrified and too full of yourself to admit it!”

Clair stopped moving, her eyes were bulging slightly and she looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time. Tracey sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Clair – it’s okay to be scared and to want to run-”

“I – I will not run!” Her voice was jerky and high-pitched, she looked slightly crazed and Tracey noticed that her hands shook slightly.

“Clair-”

“Don’t! Don’t touch me!” She huffed and turned around back to her things, she stuffed herself back into her sleeping bag, “wake me when the others arrive,” she said tersely before turning her back to Tracey.

Tracey watched her for a while before he picked up his pad and pencil and started sketching again; he was determined to finish it before Brock and Ash arrived.

* * *

 

“We are lost.”

“No we aren’t”

“We are so lost.”

“Well you didn’t want to take the lead!”

“Of course I didn’t, do you remember last time I took the lead?”

“...no?”

“Exactly, because that was years ago back in Viridian Forest which we would never have got out of because of me!”

“Ash!” Brock sighed and put his thumb and forefinger against his eyes, “we are not lost. We can’t be, we’ve been following this,” he gestured to the chasm, “for about half an hour now – we know exactly where we are, we just don’t have the map.”

The stopped and put down their packs briefly, “are you certain Tracey has gone down there?” Brock asked again.

Ash smiled, “positive – he’s just been clever and hidden his rope really well. He would have left a sign too – one that I would have recognised. I just can’t find it.”

“Yeah, maybe because it doesn’t exist?” Brock muttered to himself loud enough for Ash to hear.

Ash didn’t bother to retort and just picked up his pack again, “alright – I’m not sure exactly what Tracey would have left as a sign, but if you see a shell shape carved into a rock – or what looks like my Orange Islands Trophy or a Lapras, just shout out.”

Brock stopped immediately, “a Lapras?” Brock questioned and Ash turned around with a nod.

“Yeah – our main transportation when he, Misty and I were in the Orange Islands, why? Did you see one?” Ash asked eagerly.

Brock nodded and turned back around, “yeah it’s about ten minutes this way – but I couldn’t see any rope.”

The two trudged carefully back along the side of the chasm until Brock stopped and started looking around, “there! Or...well now that I look at it, maybe not...”

Ash quickly joined Brock and took a look as to what Brock had wanted to show him, it was a vague blobby shape – arguably a Lapras, but then it could have been a Ditto as well. Ash side-eyed Brock who was looking sheepish, “yeah, i’m pretty sure Tracey is a better at drawing than that.”

Ash chuckled, “he is, but I can kind of see what you mean. It kind of looks like a-” Ash immediately stopped speaking and stood staring at the funny shape, Brock inclined his head and between the shape and Ash. “What? What is it?”

Ash didn’t answer him for a few moments and Brock shook him gently to pull him out of his stupor, “Ash! What is it?”

Ash shook his head, “sorry – it’s just...don’t you think that looks like what we saw at the Summit? The symbols on the Pokémon? Is that maybe what you remember it from?”

Brock gave him a peculiar look and then zeroed in on what he had seen, he focused on it like Ash had and found himself looking back to some of the pictures he had seen.

“The Arcanine...this symbol was on the Arcanine.”

Ash nodded, “yeah I remember – near the left hind leg right?”

Brock look startled, “how did you remember that?”

Ash shrugged and turned away to continue walking, “something’s you just don’t forget.”

Brock watched Ash walk away and wondered for a moment what really was going on with him; they hadn’t really talked about what each of them was feeling about the whole situation. It had been a kind of whirlwind of action and reaction, they both knew the possible consequences of what they were doing, and what could eventually happen, Brock wondered what possibly could be running through Ash’s mind.

Ash was, although he would never admit it, a natural leader. Not like Lance- he wasn’t a Leader in the sense where he got things done or he made the hard decisions, he was the Leader that inspired, that drew people in. He made people want to help simply by being himself. His loyalty, tenacity and kindness motivated others and drew in their goodwill.

Being a Leader was often a lonely business and Brock knew Ash well enough to know that he liked to hide things so as not to bring people down, he had become annoyingly good at hiding what he was feeling and thinking and often Brock hadn’t found about things till months later.

None of this could have been easy for him, the responsibility alone of this whole mission, hurting Lance, the sceptics, seeing Misty again and the possibility of losing any one of his precious friends was enough to stress anyone out. So far Ash hadn’t shown any signs of strain, but Brock knew that it was only a matter of time.

Brock prepared himself for an “I’m fine, no worries” thumbs up and grin response, but he still opened his mouth to speak. As soon as he had spoke Ash’s name a rumbling sound came from deep within the cave.

The two stopped still and braced themselves, the rumbling slowly escalated and sounded like it was heading their way, “that doesn’t sound like anything alive?” Brock yelled to Ash who could barely hear him. The ground started moving under Brock’s feet, removing him of his balance and throwing him to the ground.

“Ash!”

Brock could barely see in front of him, rocks and dirt were falling all around him and he had to quickly roll out of the way of a falling stalactite, he tried to squint through the dust but couldn’t see anything, he tried to yell out some more but found it was useless, his voice was drowned out by the sound of the earth shaking and collapsing around them.

Brock crawled forward on his hands and knees and braced himself against a large boulder, waiting for what he assumed was an earthquake to be over. Whether it was a force of nature or a Pokémon he didn’t quite know, but he knew which he preferred.

Slowly the rumbling faded away and all that was left was the sound of crumbling rocks and a sea of yellowish dust clouds rising up around him.

Brock grabbed a hold of the big rock he was leaning against and pushed himself up. He gave himself a minute against the rock, his limbs were trembling a little bit and he was sure that if he took a step he would end up falling straight back down to the floor.

“Ash? Are you alright?” Brock asked on a sigh, “an earthquake in a cave...fuck...”

It took Brock a moment to realise that he hadn’t received a reply, his once pounding heart started up again, “Ash?” Brock questioned into the cave as the dust settled.

He made a few cautious and jerky steps to where he had seen Ash last only to find that, as he had feared, Ash was no longer there.

“Ash?” Brock started moving quicker, peering under rocks and trying to find a hint or a scrap of clothing, “Pikachu?!”

Another rumble from within the cave came and went in the blink of an eye and it had Brock on his knees quickly, trying to find leverage. Small rivulets of blood came down from a cut above his eye where a small rock had fallen and nicked him. He quickly reached for his back and rummaged for his first aid kit, he tended to himself as it set in that he was alone and he didn’t know what had happened to any of his comrades.

Tracey and Clair were god knows where, according to Ash they were somewhere down in the Chasm. Ash himself was nowhere to be found, apparently vanished into thin air. Brock knew there was really only the one explanation – Ash had also fallen down the Chasm.

They were close enough and the rolling sensation from the earth beneath them would have been enough to set even a heavy Snorlax off balance. However Ash wouldn’t have had time to pull out any rope or use Pokémon in such an instance, his only hope would be that there would be something to break his fall, it could potentially injure him, maybe even break a bone – but Brock would rather carry Ash out of Victory Road, broken bones and all than carry him out with no breathe in his body.

With that in mind, Brock quickly got to work, he took out a head lamp and his rope and quickly made a makeshift harness, he tied it as securely as he could to a large stalagmite near the edge of the chasm and prepared to abseil down in the dark below.

He turned his head lamp on and leant back, “alright, let’s see where you lead to.”

* * *

 

 

“Well, at least we now know what created the Chasm,” Tracey said carefully as he tied up the rest of his rope that he had untied from Claire’s.

Clair didn’t say anything, she was still white as a sheet and Tracey didn’t blame her. The recent earthquake had both on them on edge, with him literally. He had been bounced right to the edge of the little platform they had been resting on. He had been hanging on for dear life with Clair desperately struggling to rid herself of her sleeping bag while trying not to fall off the platform herself.

In the end, she had been too late and he had slipped and fell into the darkness, only to find the bottom of the Chasm quicker than expected. It had been a hard jolt on his back and no doubt he was bruised, but the damp floor of the hole was closer than they had thought and it had broken his fall. They also knew why there was no sound when Brock had dropped the rock in; the bottom of the chasm was wet and damp – muddy in some places. It wouldn’t have surprised Tracey if the stone had just plopped silently into one of the muddy puddles around.

“Do you want to use your headlamp or me? It makes no sense for the both of us to use ours – we should save one if we need it.” Tracey had immediately changed out of his wet clothing once he had got Clair down from the platform and was keen to get exploring.

“I will,” Clair immediately switched on her headlamp – which she had keep close at hand at all times and it shone right at Tracey. He covered his eyes, “aright then, I suppose the next big decision is left or right?”

“Up.”

Tracey stared at Clair and she nodded and pointed up, “I say we go up – it’s been a few hours and Brock and Ash still haven’t found us. I want to find them, I say we go up and look for them since clearly they are not looking for us.”

Tracey sighed, “Clair – we don’t have that option. Now left or right?”

Clair raised an eyebrow and gestured to the Pokéballs at her hip, “I have an Aerodactyl and a Dragonite in here, both Pokémon are more than able to get us up without having to climb our way out. I say up.”

Tracey said nothing and turned to walk right, Clair’s spluttering came from behind him, “wha- what are you _doing?_!”

“I’m making my choice; I’m not going back up. I’m going to keep walking, if I come across Ash and Brock I’ll try and send word – I’ll also leave carvings in the stone so you know which way I go if it comes to that. Good luck.”

Clair looked flabbergasted and ran after him before he got swallowed up into the darkness, “you can’t just leave me alone here, don’t you know it’s dangerous – what if you get hurt? You could be killed!”

“Clair I don’t think you understand why we’re here.” Tracey turned around and looked Clair in the eye, “we are here to get information – as much as possible in the two weeks we have. We have been here for four days already and so far all we have is a chasm, earthquakes and this!” He pulled out the rough sketch he had drawn, “not a lot to go on, so yeah – I do know it’s dangerous and I could get hurt. But I’m going to do my best to help out – which means going left or right. Feel free to come with me or go up, your choice. As of right now I don’t care which way you go, it’s clear now that you value yourself more than the well-being of Pokémon-”

A resounding slap broke out through the chasm and it made Tracey’s ears ring with the force of it, he swung his head back gently and massaged his jaw while she glared at him.

“Ouch, I felt that.”

Both Tracey and Clair stiffened at the voice from behind them, Tracey immediately moved in front of Clair and pushed her behind him, he strained to see who it was slowly walking towards them and caught a glimpse of black hair.

“Ash?” 

The figure paused for a moment before it kept walking forward, as he became more and more clear Tracey relaxed and walked forward to greet his friend. “Ash, I knew you would find us. See Clair – what did I tell you, he-”

The person stopped and cocked his head briefly, “who is ‘Ash’?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I originally posted this on FF.net - but i've noticed they are in the middle of another blitz of fanfiction and to be honest - I think it's ridiculous, so I'm in the process of saving all my works and switching them over to here. 
> 
> So apologies for the blitz in chapters - but this is the entirety of this work thus far, I update monthly (sometimes twice in a month) and I hope to have this next arc (another 8 chapters or so, done shortly) 
> 
> I will make a habit of posting here and FF.net until such time as they delete one of my stories, then I will will probably make the switch for good. 
> 
> Regardless, I do hope you enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think and Have a safe and happy holidays!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Jasmine head to Blackthorn, Misty meets an old friend and what is going on on in Victory Road?

Jasmine waited patiently on the battlements of the Indigo Plateau, she and Lance were to be departing soon and he had asked her (more like shouted towards her as he ran past her in the opposite direction) to meet him here.

The plan had originally been to leave at one in the afternoon; however their plans had been delayed by circumstances beyond their control, i.e the changing of minds and a lack of organization. 

She didn’t mind waiting, with a view like this she wondered if many would mind waiting. She wrapped her cardigan tighter around her and shivered against the biting wind, for the past few days good weather had seen off most of those in the Indigo Plateau, it had been quite a shock to the system to wake up this morning to much cooler temperatures.

She was saving her jacket to put on for the journey , Lance had assured her it would be a short trip, but regardless she didn’t want to be freezing and have her teeth clattering when she arrived in Blackthorn.

She was excited to leave the Plateau, not because she didn’t like it but more because she was heading closer to home. The Indigo Plateau straddled between the Johto and Kanto regions, Jasmine always felt like she was in limbo when she was at the Plateau, neither here nor there.

Albeit she would be in Blackthorn, not reputedly the friendliest place in all of Johto, but it was a start and following that she would be one step closer to home. She couldn’t wait to be in Olivine again, to feel the sea breeze come off the Bay, to visit Amphy again, go and visit the farm and pat the Miltanks. 

Jasmine hadn’t been born in the Johto region, but she had come to think of it as her home. She had been in Olivine for most of her life – when her Father had inherited the Gym from a distant Cousin he had taken on the role unwillingly and had eventually, once Jasmine reached 14, passed the Gym to her.

Her father had specialised in Ground type Pokémon and through that, she had eventually been one of the first to stumble upon the Steel type Pokémon. Many people found it amusing that a little slip of a thing like her would have such a brutal type of Pokémon as her preference. They also assumed she wouldn’t be able to handle them as competently as she was able to, most of the time that assumption cost them a badge.

She had learnt to let the insults, the sneering and mocking roll off her back – in the beginning it was harder, there were a lot of tears and a lot of threats from her Father about selling the Gym. It had taken Pryce, Chuck and a few more of her tears to get him to stop.

The assumptions were few and far between now and technically she was meant to report each one to the League for review; however she hadn’t done so in the past and starting now could begin something she didn’t know if she would be around to finish.

She let out a sigh and looked towards Victory Road; many people were so caught up in their own duties that they forgot about the four that were currently making their way through the treacherous path. Sometime Jasmine wondered if anyone really thought about them, what could have happened, what they may be going through. If any of them were still alive.

Most people had seemed to take their cues from the Elite Four – all of whom had stayed calm and efficient during and after the Summit and in preparing for the departure of nearly everyone from the Indigo Plateau.

The Plateau was now like a ghost town, it used to be that Jasmine couldn’t walk down a corridor or round a corner without seeing someone, now she could almost go a whole day without seeing anyone if she so chose to.

She, like most of those that were staying behind or still waiting for rides elsewhere, helped out where she could. Most of those staying behind were in the library, trying to find any hint or clue to help them solve the mysteries going on in Victory Road.

Others were cleaning up around the Plateau, changing bed sheets and cleaning bedrooms and the small communal rooms. Most of the cleaning had been done by the time those scheduled to have left had done so. Falkner had left a few days ago with his last bunch of people; he was staying in Violet City with his Father until it was time for him to bring people back.

She was jolted out of her thoughts about her fiancé by a slam and she quickly stood up and whirled around to see Lance climb up and out of the trapdoor. He closed it with a thud and stretched out while looking around.

Once he noticed her, he stopped stretching and made his way carefully over to her. The infamous cloak was draped over his shoulders and he was wearing gloves on his hands. “Hey, sorry about this I know I said one in the afternoon-”

Jasmine smiled at him, “it’s no problem – I figured you would be busy. I didn’t mind waiting around.”

Lance looked around distractedly and pulled two Pokéballs from his belt, “yeah – right we should probably be going. I’ll introduce you to-”

He tapered off as Jasmine sat back down again and grinned, “or – if you want, we could sit for a bit – it should be sundown in a little while. I heard that it’s the best kept secret around here.”

Lance looked at her like she had grown two heads; she then remembered that they were on a time schedule and no doubt the Elders waiting in Blackthorn would be annoyed enough by their first change of schedule, let alone having Lance and unwelcomed guest arrive late because they watched a sunset together.

She blushed with embarrassment, “sorry – stupid idea. Rude too, the Elders are probably waiting and-”

She stopped speaking abruptly as Lance flicked out his cloak and took a seat beside her, “you’re right,” he said conversationally as he got comfortable.

She was still pink cheeked as she moved over slightly to accommodate him, “about what?”

He gestured to the sky, “the sunset – it is the best kept secret around here. But I do wonder who told you?” He added with a grin and leaned back to relax.

She took a moment but then grinned back, “not telling.”

He laughed, “What? Is it the new best kept secret?”

The two talked and bantered back and forth while the sun continued to set eventually fading just behind the back of Victory Road. They sat in companionable silence until the last vestiges of sunlight disappeared so that star and moonlight could take its place.

“This was a good idea,” Lance murmured quietly making Jasmine hum and turn her attention to him questioningly.

“This was a good idea,” he spoke louder and turned to meet her gaze, “I used to do this all the time – especially when I first started as Champion. When I needed a break, you know?”

Jasmine nodded, “yeah – me too. Well, not _here_ but in Olivine. I used to go up to the Lighthouse there and just sit out at one of the windows and watch the sea. Watch it sparkle in the daylight or shimmer in the moonlight. It always seemed to be alive.”

Lance nodded letting another, more disenchanted silence come over them. Jasmine let out a sigh and got up slowly, “we probably should get going. The Elders will probably be wondering where you are and I don’t want to upset them any further than I probably already have.”

Lance didn’t move and frowned at her, “what do you mean ‘any further?’ They haven’t even met you yet.”

“I know, it’s just-” Jasmine paused, trying to find a way to say what she meant delicately – “Well, Blackthorn isn’t the friendliest place on earth and I know you said it would be a better idea to just show up rather than give them time to – why are you laughing?”

Lance leaned forward and picked himself up from where he was sitting, her confusion at his laughter amused him even more but he stopped himself from laughing any further and just settled for a grin, “The Elders are the least of your worries at the moment, let me handle them when we get there. Right now, I’d like you to meet my Dragonite.”

Lance tapped twice on one of his Pokéball and immediately his Dragonite popped out of her Pokéball. He walked towards his Pokémon and gently rubbed her forehead making the Pokémon purr slightly. “Hey girl, last flight for a while – We’re going to Blackthorn, I promised a play on the beach remember?”

The Dragonite nodded eagerly like a child would and then turned a curious attention to Jasmine who was hovering slightly to the side. “Ah, right – Jasmine this is my Dragonite; I’ve had her since I was young and she was a newly hatched Dratini. She’ll be the one carrying you to Blackthorn.”

Jasmine nodded and stepped forward hesitantly making Lance frown, “she won’t bite you.” He turned a stern look on his Pokémon who just stared back at him.

Jasmine smiled, “oh I know that, It’s just,” her voice was slightly breathless; “she’s so beautiful.”

Both Lance and his Pokémon exchanged a look of confusion; his Pokémon had been called many things, ruthless, cunning, brutal – but never ‘beautiful.’

“I mean – you’re the Champion and have been pretty much undefeated for years and this is your partner that helped you do that, I mean – I can’t believe I’m meeting and get to fly the Dragonite who is partner to the Champion!”

His Dragonite snorted at the memory of their one and only loss in ten years which made Lance grin slightly, he knew that despite that one flaw in Jasmine’s little speech, his Pokémon was enjoying the rather lavish praise being heaped upon her. Dragonite wasn’t particularly vain and was extremely diligent in all aspects of her existence, but it was rare that she met someone who wasn’t afraid of her, or who was trying to mind play with her before a battle.

Jasmine sidled up to Lance, “do you think she would let me pat her? I wouldn’t want to offend her or anything?”

Lance turned to look at his Dragonite who was staring hard at Jasmine, as though gauging her personality. Finally, Lance found himself pushed forward and out of the way ungracefully as his Dragonite shuffled towards Jasmine and nodded her acquiesce to being patted by the Gym Leader.

Lance huffed with amusement as he watched the two bond slightly, happy that he didn’t have to worry about his Dragonite and Jasmine in the air. His Pokémon didn’t like a lot of people, she was untrusting by nature – most Dragon Pokémon are in the beginning, however once you earned their loyalty it would be there for life. Along with himself, Agatha, Bruno, Misty and Ash (although his Pokémon would never admit it) his Dragonite didn’t trust very many people.

Sure, like all Dragonite she was kind in nature and would help out random strangers for no reason; however that didn’t always translate into letting someone touch them without permission.

Lance let out a sigh and released his Aerodactyl from another Pokéball on his belt, his Aerodactly and Dragonite had done much of the flying these past couple of days and both deserved a good rest when they all landed safely in Blackthorn.

“When you ladies are ready?”

* * *

 

 

Agatha sat by herself in one of the communal rooms on the top floor, this was where most of the VIP’s were staying, like  the rest of the member of the Elite Four and some of the older Gym Leaders.

The floor was empty now as most of the Elite Four members and Gym Leaders had head back to their own towns and cities to continue on with research.

She took a sip of her tea and looked out towards Victory Road, this was the best place in the entirely of the Indigo Plateau to look in that direction, it also helped that it was a bay style window with a large bench like seat for her to lounge on.

She took another sip of her tea and grimaced at how cold it was, she set it back down on the windowsill and tried not to let her thoughts turn too dark.

Lance had left earlier that day with Jasmine in tow and Agatha rolled her eyes at that development, Lance was only causing himself more pain in the long run – no matter what would happen or how it would end, nothing would take away the fact that Jasmine was already engaged and spoken for.

Lance had assured her that he was only taking Jasmine with him for convenience sake – just as one friend to another. Agatha allowed herself an ungraceful snort this time as she replayed Lance’s reasoning’s through her head. She wondered if he truly believed in what he said – that he had convinced himself that he could just be friends with the young woman and he could bury his more potent feelings deep down in the dark recesses of his heart, or that he was just putting up a front that would slowly gnaw away at him until something broke.

Either way, he was in Blackthorn now with Jasmine and no doubt dealing with the Elder’s formidable displeasure. Agatha couldn’t help but let out a snicker, her personal feelings about Lance and Jasmine aside, she couldn’t deny that she took pleasure at the thought of the Elders of Blackthorn City being distressed by their golden boy and his antics again.

“Agatha! There you are – would you like some more tea?”

Agatha’s pleasurable thoughts were swiftly cut down to size as the cheerful voice that haunted her sleep surrounded her.

Delia Ketchum took a seat on the window seat and filled up Agatha’s teapot with the thermos she had on hand. Agatha raised an eyebrow which Delia caught and let out a laugh, “I thought I’d go round and see if anyone needed a pick me up. This is a lovely place.”

As Delia prattled on about nothing in particular Agatha could feel her irritation slowly taking over, “It’s late Mrs Ketchum, and since I cannot keep you out of the Kitchen shouldn’t you be getting some rest for tomorrow morning. I like my breakfast early and well-cooked.”

Delia grimaced at her, “well be as I am not as old as you are – I should say the same thing. Shouldn’t your old bones be getting some rest?”

Agatha looked surprised for a moment before she smirked rather proudly, Delia busied herself which pouring herself some tea using the lid of the thermos as her cup. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Agatha asked a question she had wanted to ask for a while.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

Delia looked up from the rim of her cup and hummed questioningly, “your son,” Agatha elaborated, “your only son – aren’t you afraid something will happen to him?”

Delia lowered the cup from her mouth and stared at the liquid, “of course – I would’ve thought that went without saying. Ash is my miracle and he grew up in ten short year’s right before my eyes and then he went away. Every time he left I always thought that it could be the last time I saw him – and every time he came back – he was a little taller, a little more mature, and a little more different. He grew up away from me in the end. He became someone I am so proud off and I trust him.”

Delia smiled – Agatha could see a hint of watery eyes, but that could have been just the steam from tea.  “I believe in Ash, and I will wait patiently for him to come back once again. I will always believe that my little boy will come back to me.”

Agatha narrowed her eyes, “but not your husband?” She noticed Delia pale a little, “you won’t believe that your husband will come back to you?”

To that Delia had nothing to say and Agatha took another sip of her tea, “this is quite delicious,” she said offhandedly before speaking again, “it seems that all you seem to do it wait – wait for husband and then wait for your son – like two peas in a pod aren’t they?”

Delia finished her tea with a large gulp and Agatha noted the way she winced as it no doubt burned down her throat. The younger woman stood up jerkily and closed up the thermos, “I wondered when this conversation would come up – and to be honest I thought I would be asked with a bit more politeness than this.”

“Just because you cook and clean here for the moment doesn’t mean you deserve any more politeness than what I give you – especially when I have asked and told you repeatedly to stop. You are not the Lady of the Indigo Plateau, regardless of you status as the Wife of the presumed dead Kanto Champion and Mother of the Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh regions.” Agatha spoke superiorly and without remorse for the woman in front of her, who by any standards was wonderful – and did deserve a lot more respect than what Agatha knew she was currently giving her.

Delia didn’t say anything for a few seconds, “I know what you are trying to do – just like I know you know where my husband is and won’t tell me. That’s fine. I learnt a long time ago to not interfere with the League and the Elite Four.” She took in a deep breath, “but know this. I choose to believe that Richard is alive. I choose to believe in Ash and I choose to believe that he will come back and regardless of your cynicism, negativity and what you deign as being a ‘realist,’ you will never take those choices away from me.”

Once she had finished speaking Delia nodded her head slightly, turned on her heel and started walking in the direction of the staircase.

Agatha waited until she could hear no more footsteps before letting out a weary sigh; once upon a time she had felt pity for that woman. She couldn’t help but let out a smile, Delia may have been a Mother now – but she hadn’t let any of her gumption go to waste.

It had taken her a while, but Agatha finally remembered her first meeting with Delia Ketchum. The younger woman had been standing in front of the closed gates of the Indigo Plateau, red-faced, exhausted and pregnant with Professor Oak panicking slightly behind her. She had demanded to know the whereabouts of her husband and wouldn’t leave until she knew.

At the time Agatha had felt pity and from behind those closed gates had mocked the woman tirelessly with the other members of the Elite– two were now long dead and the other soundly defeated by Bruno a few years ago. However, she had been surprised to see the woman stay – even in her condition, stay outside and wait for hours on end.

It had been her labour that had forced her away from the Plateau, the walk up the harrowing steps induced her labour and she had been rushed back to Pallet Town for a home birth.

After the birth, Delia had never returned to the Plateau until Ash’s first go at the Indigo Conference and it was then that Agatha had hoped she would be able to confront Delia about the letter she had sent after the birth. Detailed in it contained all the information she had about Richard Ketchum – who had been the Kanto Champion at the time, but like his son – had refused to take the title and had continued wandering around Kanto and beyond.

Whether he had ever taken on the other regions, Agatha didn’t know –what she did know was that only a year after his disappearance, the former Champion who was still holding the title because of Richard’s refusal, passed away and left a hole and the Kanto League had not held a tournament for a number of years because of it.

Attempts to get into contact with Richard had lead to dead-ends and in the end, after deciding they could no longer wait for a person they didn’t even know was still alive, the Indigo Conference resumed.

Agatha wondered if Delia had ever done anything with the information she had provided – she had never been given a thank you, nor had the issue ever been addressed up until a few moments ago and still Agatha hadn’t received the answers she wanted.

It was a curious case and at times Agatha had wanted to bring it up with Ash and had even asked Lance whether she ought to. Ash was such a mirror image to his Father it was uncanny, same colouring, hair and facial shape – especially now that he was older and had angled out a bit more. Ash had the same tendency to wander, although he was better at keeping in contact and he didn’t have that _ridiculous_ nickname.

A clock donged somewhere in the hallway and Agatha took a quick look at her watch surprised to see it was well past midnight. She slowly stood up and stretched her aching bones, picking up her teacup and walking stick; she walked towards the elevators to head underground to her room where the rest of the Kanto Elite Four’s quarters were, hoping she would at least wake two of them up.

* * *

 

 

“I don’t even know why I bother.” Misty slammed another dusty book shut and moved it off into her third pile, titled: “even more unhelpful.”

She was in the Cerulean Library pouring over books and wishing that it was lunchtime so that she could be out by the lake and drinking in the sunshine. She was surrounded by other Trainers – most of whom she remembered battling at one time or another. She knew they were probably thinking the same as her; however, the books they were looking over were too old and not allowed to be taken outside of the Library.

“What time is it? My brain cannot take much more of this, I need food and light and air.” A Breeder had flopped over his desk gracelessly and whinged to anyone who would care to hear.

Misty took a quick glance of her watch, “it’s a quarter to one,” which met a serenade of groans. Misty smiled and leant back to stretch, “it’s too nice a day to be stuck in here doing this, you guys go and I’ll stay and keep working.”

Most of the group look elated and took the offer up immediately, “just make sure your back by two!” Misty called out, receiving a glare from others in the Library which she ignored.

“Are you sure Misty? I mean your break will be a long way away and that pile isn’t getting any smaller!” Misty looked up to see Yvonne – the young Trainer who had asked a question during the Summit, looking worried for her.

Misty waved her off with a hand, “yeah, go for it. When you guys are all back I’ll go and see if Bill is back in town.”

Once she had left, Misty let out a huge sigh and leaned back. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her group or that they didn’t do anything – they contributed a lot, it was just that sometimes she needed solitude and she had been followed around for the past few days by someone nearly all the time.

She looked at the pile of books stacked neatly next to her; all were very large, dusty and heavy. She would place money on the fact that they would find nothing in there about what was going on, she believed all the answers were either in The Indigo Plateau, Sunyshore City or Victory Road. All of which were currently being taken care of. Misty had already visited the Cerulean Elders who lived near the Cerulean Cave and neither of them had heard anything either.

They were a funny bunch, closed off from everyone – they didn’t like their titles either. The first time she had met them they had scolded her harshly because she had referred to them as ‘honoured Elders.’ They also didn’t like company which always made her self-conscious. It was tradition between the Elders and the Gym Leader of Cerulean City to have monthly meetings, usually Misty only ended up staying a few minutes, even if she had important news or any updates regarding the Gym.

They also didn’t communicate with the Elders of other towns and clans either; it was like they rejected the idea of what they were. Misty knew eventually she would be an Elder of Cerulean City, the rules were clear, one must have either been born in Cerulean or lived in it for 50 years or more, one must also be a titled Master or have been the Gym Leader of Cerulean City. There were other small details that would be dealt with at a later date, but overall she had two of the major’s down pat. If her parents hadn’t died then she was sure that her Father at least would have been considered for Elder status.

Of course, had her father been alive then Misty wouldn’t have been Gym Leader and if she hadn’t been the Gym Leader then could had travelled further with Ash. She would probably be with him in Victory Road at this moment.

During the Summit Misty had wondered if she would be one of the one’s Ash would have chosen to take with him, it wasn’t vanity that caused her to think that way, more like she knew Ash well and Ash liked having people around him he knew and he could trust, he also liked people who could take care of themselves, especially in such a dangerous situations.

However, his group had slightly surprised her, Brock was a no brainer, she knew from the moment Ash volunteered that those two were involved in something and no doubt Lance would be behind it all.

It was why she, along with the others in the Summit were surprised when Lance’s name had never been called. Tracey hadn’t surprised her all that much; it was a very logical choice and a good one in her opinion. Tracey was competent enough in battling, could think on his feet and didn’t make any rash decisions. The three men alone would have been enough in her opinion; however he had to pick one more.

The choice of Clair had interested her greatly, especially in place of Lance and Misty had wondered for a moment how Lance’s fragile ego and his and Ash’s friendship had managed to survive.

Misty had thought that even if she hadn’t been chosen then Ash would have called up May or Dawn to go with him and it troubled her that he didn’t. It meant that whatever was going on in Victory Road was worse than the Elite Four was letting on, the only reason Ash wouldn’t have taken May and Dawn would be because they are predominately Coordinators, their battling style wasn’t meant for endurance and strength.

In taking Clair, Ash was balancing out the rest of his team. Brock was strategy – always had been. He was also a great carer of Pokémon and had a strong team to back him up. Tracey had an innate curiosity that Ash had always trusted and seemed to have uncanny luck. His Pokémon may not have been overly strong, but they were smart and swift. Ash himself was a mix of everything; his Pokémon would no doubt be a mix of everything –strength, defence, endurance, speed and smarts. Clair on the other hand, with her Dragon Pokémon she was raw power.

In choosing his team, Ash had covered all his bases, he had two near him he implicitly trusted and another he felt he could count on, the team of Pokémon between the four would have been a complex mix, but would have worked for any situation. Ash had essentially chosen well, he had prepared for probably every scenario he could think of.

Misty knew Ash was clever, maybe once upon a time he had been a little naive but he had grown out of that and now he was a force to be reckoned with. She, no doubt, had something to do with it but it was for the best. Misty had wondered if he had have been able to achieve what he had in the past few years without her leaving, if what she had done had triggered something in Ash and he had broken through and left behind the last vestiges of youth.

Misty shook her head, she had resolved to stop think about her ex boyfriend, it had been easy before- out of sight, out of mind. She had kept herself busy and had managed to keep him out of her thoughts for long periods of time, only to delve back into that locked draw in the dark recesses of her mind when birthdays, anniversaries or things that shocked her into remembrance.

She would be seeing him again shortly, when she got back to the Plateau and he came back from Victory Road (he would! She didn’t care what anyone else thought.) Once everything had been sorted there she would go back to Cerulean and he would continue on his journey, they would separate again and everything would be back to normal. He would continue to be a memory in her life rather than be a part of it.

A wonderful memory, but a memory nonetheless – she would carry on with her Gym as always and he would follow his dreams. She wasn’t sure what they were anymore.

“Looking a bit melancholy there?”

Misty jumped in surprise and turned around with a frown on her face, “Bill – would you quit doing that please?”

The older man shrugged and plonked himself down on the seat next to her not bothering to take off his sunglasses but removed his hat, “how much time do we have?”

Misty appraised him, already getting over her surprise, “you have something?”

“No, I just wanted to see what was wrong with you – in all my years I’ve come to find that when Women are sad it’s normally not a short story that comes with it.”

Misty didn’t resist the urge to punch him on the arm.

He gave a hearty chuckle, “well at least you’re not sad anymore and as for having anything – there are a few rumours rolling around. Pretty much what you would expect.”

Misty rolled her eyes, “care to elaborate slightly on that?”

Bill picked up a dusty book and turned it round and round, “na – I think it would be more fun to piss Lance off with a lack of detail.”

Misty nodded, “very true – but it’s not you he’s hounding with a want of detail.”

“You mean threatening?” Bill asked nonchalantly and Misty gave him a look that read ‘I know what you are doing – stop it.’

Bill let the book drop down, “as much as I would like to see The Dragon Master get a taste of his own medicine, I will admit that he is probably the best Champion Kanto has ever had and as such – you should tell him to watch his back.”

Misty raised an eyebrow in question and Bill raised his hands, “I only have murmurings at the moment- but from what I hear a lot of people are unhappy with him – even more so than I am.”

Misty tapped her pencil on the paper in front of her, “you mean the Clans are unhappy? Or the rest of us?”

“Both,” Bill said, “I don’t have anything concrete yet, but when I do I’ll let you know.”

Misty nodded her thanks and Bill took a moment before speaking again, “they are also unhappy with a certain ex of yours also.”

Misty furrowed her brow, “Ash? Why on earth would people be unhappy with Ash?”

Bill snorted, “his connection to Lance maybe? His lack of responsibility? His constant disappearances? His knowledge of many of the ‘Legendary Pokémon? What he did to you-”

“Bill!” Misty interrupted sharply; he just lowered his sunglasses and peered down at her over the rim. “Come one Misty, you can’t tell me he didn’t have an inkling of anything that was going on with you?”

“Just leave it!” She grit out through her teeth and looked around to see if anyone was watching.

Bill shook his head, “fine – but I find it hard to believe that someone like him wasn’t seeing the signs that something wasn’t right.”

Misty took in a deep breath, “he’s changed a lot since then. He would no doubt see it now. Or at least sense it.”

Bill gave her a rueful look, “I don’t know – it doesn’t make sense to me. If it was me and I loved you as much as you say he did, then I would have seen that something was wrong, you’re not that great of an actress. Remember the Miss Magikarp Festival? I would have followed you. I wouldn’t have let you go without a fight.”

Misty let out a smile and chose to ignore the fact he brought up that embarrassment of a school play, “well I suppose that’s the difference between you and Ash, Bill. He knows me better than you do, he knew exactly what I wanted and let me do it. He let me go because I asked him to.”

“You didn’t give him a choice – you sneaked away-”

“Yes,” Misty stressed, “I did it that way because it was easier for me. If I had asked Ash to let me go away by myself he wouldn’t have been happy about it, but he would have let me go all the same. If its one thing Ash always did – he always made sure my feelings, thoughts and wishes were valid – he always cared. He trusts me.”

“Sounds perfect,” Bill said drolly, “so why’d you leave then?”

Misty didn’t bother answering the question and Bill let out a rueful chuckle, “you seem to have nothing but good things to say about Ash Ketchum, quite funny for someone who left her boyfriend in the middle of the night for ‘it’s personal.’”

Misty let out a growl, “do you have anything more to give me?”

Bill raised his hands and got up, knowing he was being dismissed. “I’ll contact you again when I have something,” he grabbed his hat off the table and bent down to whisper in Misty’s ear, “just one more thing – if he trusts you like you say he does, why didn’t he pick you to go with him into Victory Road?”

* * *

 

 

Ash woke to a dripping sound, and a pounding in his head, neck and shoulders. He stayed where he was for a while, trying to get his bearings back and sort out his surroundings. He willed himself not to panic and make any rash decisions, hard when he could barely see or hear anything.

He knew he could hear water – he could also feel it as his clothes were soaked, he was lying on a damp rock that he could feel underneath him and there was another rock above him, whether it was in a precarious position or not he didn’t know, he hoped not.

He felt around his waist and counted his Pokéballs, all were fine and accounted for and none had any cracks that he could feel. Satisfied that they were alright Ash turned his head gently, trying to find a flash of yellow.

“Pikachu?” Ash spoke into the darkness hesitantly and then listened intently for any sounds, he didn’t hear anything and tried again, when he got no reply again Ash made the decision to start moving. He felt around with hands to gauge how big the rock was he was lying on, his legs were free and he could only move to his left, the right was completely closed off.

Ash raised his hands and found that the reason it was so dark was that there was a rock inches from his face, his palms were flat against it and he didn’t want to press too hard, lest he move something and whatever it was above him fell completely.

Ash began the painful process of shuffling his whole body side ways; it was a long one with him having to move specific parts of his body in odd ways to fit through the gaps.

Eventually he met his pack and heaved a sigh of relief, he took a moment and shuffled round trying to find painkillers and water, he couldn’t find his water so in the end he dry-swallowed the pills as best he could. He ignored the feeling of having them sit in his throat and continued moving himself and his backpack left.

After what felt like half an hour he had another rest, finding no end to the tunnel he was in. He knew he was moving slower than a snail and no doubt he wouldn’t be far from where he started but he didn’t know how long he had been out for, he didn’t know when he had last had anything to eat or drink and he didn’t know where his team was.

He was currently alone and stuck in between rocks that could give way on either above or below him at any moment; he clutched onto his pack hard for a moment and took a deep breath in to calm himself before starting to move again.

He ignored the ache in his bones, the dryness of his throat, the sweat impairing what little vision he had and the rocks that dug into him from all angles, his current short-term goal was to get out of where he was, after that he didn’t care what happened unless it meant finding Pikachu and his team.

His persistence paid off, he wasn’t sure for how long he had been moving but eventually Ash began to be able to see in front of him, he could make out the patterns and lines on the rocks, he could see the shapes of rocks and he could name the colour of his gloves and pack.

Ash pushed on, breathing in as much as possible the closer he got to fresher air and more light. Finally he made it to the end where the rocks above him ended sharply and he was lying on a large flat face of rock, he lay there for a few minutes, just breathing in the air around him and taking in all that he could see.

Eventually he pulled himself up so that he could have a look around where he was, he knew he had fallen in from the Chasm on the upper levels but he didn’t remember anything after that. Looking around, he knew he was in a different area all together.

He looked down from the slab he was sitting on, he could see a wee stream trickle in below – no doubt where all the water came from and for a moment he wondered if he had somehow floated to where he was. But then that wouldn’t explain how he had made it up so high.

He looked up and blanched, he had been in what seemed to be a very tiny cave – only made by the dozens of boulders stacked upon one another and had surrounded him. Ash couldn’t see anywhere to go if he went upwards and quite frankly he didn’t trust himself climbing.

Ash looked down and figured that was the only way to go, however the thought of that at the moment was more than he thought he could take, instead he opened his pack and rummaged around for an energy bar.

It was dry and hard to swallow, but at least it made his head less fuzzy. While he slowly munched on the bar he mapped out a way to climb down, one he had finished his bar Ash slung his backpack onto his back and started his journey down.

He was only lucky it was a craggy sort of wall to climb down, the foot and hand holes seemed like they were made for free-climbing and he made it down the wall a lot quicker than coming out of the cave.

The minute he touched down the first thing he did was cup some water in his hands for a long drink.  He ignored the aftertaste of dirt and made sure to drink up slowly. He didn’t have his drink bottle and he didn’t know how long he would possibly be without water next time.

Ash was in the midst of taking another drink when he noticed something strange, he let the water fall from his hands and he stared hard at the ground, wondering if it was just his imagination or dehydration.

The pebbles around him were bouncing slightly and the small stream seemed to have vibrations rippling through it. Ash stood slowly and carefully backed away, he looked around for a place to take cover, he eventually notice a small hole he could slip into, he made a mad dash across the stream to head to the small cave.

He could now hear the footsteps and he desperately pushed in his backpack as far as it could go and then slipped his whole body in sideways, he found that he could only stand but it didn’t matter – he only hoped that whatever it was coming his way couldn’t smell him or sense in any other way that he was there.

The closer the footsteps got the harder the area around him shook, dust and pebbles fell all around him and Ash covered his eyes, nose and mouth best he could. He tried to keep his breathing as quiet as possible and just waited.

The large foot that came crashing down in front of his hidey hole shocked him so much that he jumped involuntary, it was arguably the biggest foot he had ever seen, the size of a van, dark reddish-brown and covered in muck and dirt. However it was the claws that made him falter, instead of toenails, the toes all extended into what looked like extremely sharp, deadly and filthy claws. Some were chipped; others were stained with what Ash assumed to be blood. They looked like they could decapitate with an effortless swipe.

The smell was awful, worse than rubbish on a hot day – worse than three week old milk, a combination of things that just should never mix. The combination of the smell with the horrible sense of dread Ash felt so close the presence of whatever it was, it made Ash feel close to collapsing.

Ash watched the feet stop outside the wall he had climbed down only a little while ago. The urge to duck his head out briefly was almost overwhelming, he tilted his head and body slightly to try and see more, thick legs – all with the same scaly and reddish-brown coloured skin followed, he noticed that the creature had deep gouges up its thigh, some still bleeding heavily, others that had scabbed over.

Suddenly the creature let out an enraged and desperate howl, Ash flung himself back up straight as a pin to hide himself more, he could hear the booming of the erratic footsteps, the breathing of the creature became heavy and despairing moans and angry grunts expelled out.

Ash covered his face and mouth to stop him choking from the stench and waited for the creature to make its next move. The next thing Ash knew was that he was bleeding from the head and his hands were badly scraped.

Disoriented and trying to stem the bleeding with his hands, Ash tried to see what had happened, the creature was hunched over, fists deep in the ground and it was breathing heavily. From what Ash could see it had plunged its fists into the ground, angry and frustrated and with such force that it caused a small earthquake.

Slightly thankful that he was not under a pile of rubble, Ash wiped some blood away from his eyes and kept watching the creature in front of him, he could make out a square jaw, strong arms and a slight gut, the creature stayed in its crouching position for a long while which made Ash slightly nervous and unwilling to move an inch lest he made a sound.

Eventually the creature rose and Ash watched in fascinated horror as the Pokémon turned back to where he had once been hiding and roared out a powerful blast from his mouth in that direction. It shook the area around Ash and a landslide of rocks and dust poured down from the blast that the creature had made.

The creature looking strangely satisfied as the dust settled, with a small grunt it turned around and starting heading out the way it came.

Ash clutched onto the rocky wall as he tried to make sense of what he had just witnessed, he could only liken it to one thing.

A Hyper Beam attack.

Which could only mean something else and it made Ash completely spent from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. He leaned his body back against the wall, his knees buckled around him and he clutched at his forehead, willing the stress and frustration not to get to him.

What they had been searching for, what they would be hunting. What they possibly couldn’t defeat was a Pokémon.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...I don’t suppose a huge “i’m sorry” would go down well?
> 
> I know I said I hoped to get this up in the week I was back which was in January and it’s now the first week of February...I could give you a multitude of excuses ranging from the typical to the out there bizarre, but the really only feasible one I can give you is: A lack of time.
> 
> I’m job hunting, have a boyfriend/social life - I’m moving shortly, my current work is expanding, there is really a lot going on and i’m doing my best to sort things out. Hopefully I can get back to a better routine in the next few months or so and become more regular with my posts, but I’m not promising anything.
> 
> The only thing I will promise is that this story will not be abandoned. I have never abandoned one before and don’t intend to start. Ever. It may take me a while sometimes, but keep telling me to post – I will get there. J
> 
> Thanks to all of you for your reviews, it really does help when people say they are interested and want to keep reading and see what you come up with, it’s a great motivator for me personally so really, thank you very much.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed a few reveals in this chapter – some of you thought Ash had lost his memories, fingers crossed this cleared that up for you and you enjoy this chapter. Again it’s building the action of what is to come.
> 
> If you have any requests, comments, concerns – please let me know in a review. Or if you just want to talk shop send me a PM. I do my best to answer everyone I get!
> 
> P.S: If anyone has any good Pokémon fic rec’s please let me know!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brock goes on the hunt and finds more than he bargained for, Jasmine and Lance have a bit of fun in Blackthorn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter, quite a bit of action and more things revealed here. I thought of something while I was writing this and it took my story in a slightly different direction then I intended, but it won’t slow the story down at all or anything, just another added bit that I really like.
> 
> Back from holiday and I have a cold...fantastic. I went to Sydney for five days to see the Lion King and Mrs Brown’s Boy’s live on stage – both of them were brilliant! If you ever get a chance and it’s your kind of thing, definitely go!
> 
> I’m moving on Saturday, so I wanted to get this chapter out now, cause I’ll be without internet for a while (which should make me write more!) but it also means I’ll be without posting ability for a little while, shouldn’t be too long only about two weeks and I usually try and post one chapter a month – so fingers crossed for April – or even late March!
> 
> As usual, if you have any questions/comments/concerns please review, I do enjoy hearing your thoughts and any ideas you may have to where this fic may be heading. It also fuels me to write more and faster (believe it or not.)

Brock had been walking for a good four hours before he found somewhere he could duck into and rest. He hadn’t found anyone yet and no one had found him, he chose not to think the worst and set down his pack to grab himself some water and some food.

There had been a few small aftershocks after that big earthquake and then another rather funny sort of jolt a little while ago, he had been rattled slightly and had jumped or twitched involuntarily for a few of the rumbles.

As he took a sip of water Brock thought about how often the cave had rumbled and jolted since they had entered. He hadn’t felt anything while he was in the Indigo Plateau, but yet while he was in here it was like an earthquake happened quite often, more-so than usual.

Arguably whatever was in here could be causing it, there were a lot of rock and ground type Pokémon in Victory Road, whatever else was in here could be setting things off balance, or could also be causing the quakes itself.

Brock let out a heavy sigh and packed up his things, he hemmed and hawed over whether he should bunk down for the night or keep walking, it was still relatively early and the whole group had probably been through a lot in these past few hours. As far as he was aware, Ash and Pikachu were still together, Tracey and Clair were together also, he was the only one still semi-alone.

He had his Pokémon of course, but he was only going to bring them out for extreme circumstances, tempting though it was to have some form of companionship. He shouldered his pack and got up, he had decided to continue on for a bit longer, the others already had a couple of hours on him and if they had decided to camp out for the night, chances are with a good pace he would catch up to them.

As he walked he wondered how everyone else outside of Victory Road was going, his brother Forrest would have been in Pewter by now, doing his best to check on the family and making sure they were all okay. Pewter City didn’t have much in the way of a Library and ancient texts, but they did have the Museum, which was why he was taking the samples – to give the to the Museum to check on.

Even if it ended up being all for naught, Brock wanted to come out of Victory Road with something, being in the cave was isolating and exhausting. He hadn’t really thought of anything outside of it until now and as far as they were aware it had only been about five days since their entry. They still had seven days to go till the group had to report and up until now everything had been going relatively well.

Now they were all separated, probably lost in the winding chasm and on the lookout for a ‘Big Foot.’ Three things that did not inspire confidence in him at that moment, Brock could only hope that everyone else was doing better than he was.

“Pika-Chu?”

Brock stopped in his tracks immediately and whirled around, “Pikachu?” He shouted, when he didn’t hear anything he tried again, “Pikachu?! Ash?”

“Pika-Chu!” Brock turned around to look the way he came and tilted his head up, there up on a high ledge was Pikachu waving at him.

Brock let out a laugh and waved back, he started moving to the rock face, “hey buddy, Ash not with you?”

“Pika-Chu! Pika-Pika!”

Brock furrowed his brow, Pikachu was gesturing for him to come closer and seemed to have an urgency in his tone to hurry his friend along.

“Pikachu-”

Brock was cut off by a large boom and a flying of dust and rocks from around the corner a ways in front of him, he looked to see Pikachu urging him up and taking the hint, Brock decided to climb.

He had made it halfway up when a loud boom made him slip, he hung on with one hand for a few seconds before wrenching up the hand that had fell to get a better grip. He stayed where he was for a few seconds, catching his breath.

Brock could hear Pikachu urging him forward and for a moment he thought about jumping back down and running back towards his little hidey-hole. That was when the footsteps began, Brock remembered the gait and started to push himself further, not wanting to be in a prime position for whatever it was making its way towards them.

“Pika-Chu! Pika-Chu!”

Brock gripped the final edge and without having time to check his surroundings, he scrambled up and rolled his way ungracefully into the little fissure Pikachu had found.

Pikachu burrowed himself into Brock’s chest and was shivering – much like he had been the first time they had come across this beast. Brock tucked himself in as small as he could, he had been in such a rush he hadn’t had time to take his pack off and he could feel what he thought was his torch jutting into his back.

For the moment he didn’t care, the fear of the unknown had washed over him and the footsteps were getting closer. He shut his eyes and waited, hoping that he had made the right choice to follow Pikachu.

The footsteps stopped and Brock held his breath.

A growling noise started, it was close and it got louder every second till then suddenly, a roar from further away echoed all around the cave.

Confused, Brock tried to make sense of what he was hearing, there was a thunk and the sound of something rolling away down the Chasm, not giving himself time to think about the stupidity of what he was about to do, Brock removed Pikachu from his chest and moved out from the fissure to look down into the Chasm.

If he was right, from what he could see through the dust that had flown up, the Pokémon currently rolling away from them was a gigantic sized Golem. Although it didn’t look like an ordinary Golem, the familiar brown colour was a dark, inky black with a murky red running through it; it was obviously larger than any Golem he had ever seen and it was rolling its way back the way Brock had came.

He pondered on how lucky he was for a moment before jerking his head up at the loud crash, he followed the dust trail that had rose in the Golem’s wake and found that it had stopped a couple hundred kilometres away from where he and Pikachu were.

There was another roar followed by a loud growl and then a blinding flash. Brock held his hands up to his face and when he brought them back down again, there was nothing but silence. He found that he didn’t like the silence and made the decision to go back the way he came.

It would probably take him another four hours and then some, he would have to be on constant alert but he didn’t care, Brock went back to Pikachu and scooped him up , “right – I don’t know where Ash is and I don’t like that he’s alone, but he will be okay – he always is and chances are he, Tracey and Clair saw what just happened and will come to the same conclusion I did.”

Brock knew he was talking himself into what could be a fatal endeavour, but as he and Pikachu made their way back down he did his best to shove the negative thoughts out of his brain, he would no doubt be meeting the rest of the team shortly and they would be able to figure if what had just happened was a rather vicious Pokémon battle.

* * *

 

 

Jasmine woke to the sound of a gong going off, she groaned loudly and burrowed her head further into her pillow.

She had been at Blackthorn for less than 24hours and already she hated it. When they had said they got up early, they meant it.

It seemed that everything was done early, upon her and Lance’s arrival they had been greeted by the Elders of Blackthorn Clan – all of which had similar displeased looks on their faces - and had then been told that they were late for dinner and would thus have to wait till breakfast.

Jasmine had done her best to let them know she didn’t mind and was on the verge of bowing and thanking them for their hospitality when Lance had looped a hand into the back of her jeans and pulled her upright.

Nothing had been said, but the temperature had dropped a few degrees after that and the grimaces they had given her were rather pronounced. She had done her best to ignore them but Lance hadn’t allowed that treatment, he had glared at anyone who spoke to her with anything less than a polite tone and would ask loudly and obnoxiously if anything was wrong if they ever looked at her without a smile.

And this had only been on the way to their rooms, because they hadn’t been expecting her she had been asked to wait – Lance had immediately offered her his room and said he would wait for another to be made up. She had a feeling that if he hadn’t done that she would probably still be waiting for bed linen.

It was funny how they treated Lance with such respect and he showed none in return, albeit she hadn’t seen the Grand Master Elder yet, Jasmine wondered if she ever would and if she did, how Lance would behave in that situation.

The gong sound was still going and it woke her up completely to her frustration, she lightly thumped her fists against the duvet and slugged her way out of bed towards the window of her room. She opened the curtains and yawned loudly as the bright light streamed in.

There were a few people milling around the city already, she watched them hurry along from her second story window. She and Lance were staying in his home that had been left to him by his parents, being in his bedroom was slightly strange and she had taken the time last night to have a look.

Not that there was much to look at, she didn’t look in the cupboards and drawers out of respect for privacy, but the walls were bare, she was currently sitting on the double bed and there was only a chest of drawers in front of her and the to her right against the wall was an empty desk.

The floors were wooden and the walls a nondescript white, it surprised Jasmine – she didn’t really know what she expected from a bedroom of the Champion, but she supposed she would have liked to have seen maybe a trophy, a picture of a hero on the wall, maybe a photo of a red-haired young boy with a missing tooth and a Dragonair, not a blank room with four walls.

She was distracted out of her thoughts by a knock on her door, she quickly got up and padded over to the door, she had expected to see Lance on the other side and was quite surprised to see a smiling older women on the other side, she was carrying fresh towels and handed them over, “good morning dear, I hope you slept well?”

“Oh – oh yes! Very well!” Jasmine managed to stutter out and took the proffered towels with a smile of her own.

“The washroom is just down the end of the hall, take your time dear – let me know when you’re ready for breakfast and I’ll whip something up for you.” As the woman turned to walk away Jasmine reached out and caught the woman’s sleeve. The woman turned back and Jasmine let out a stuttered apology and then bowed, “I’m sorry – I, I just – I thought that breakfast would be organised with the Elders schedule?”

Jasmine managed to look everywhere but at the woman she was talking to and subsequently jolted when she felt a hand grasp tightly at her own hands, Jasmine raised her head to see the woman smiling warmly at her with slight tears flickering her eyelashes, “not a worry dear, breakfast will be when you want it and not before – Master Lance says so.”

Jasmine let that sink in and then smiled herself, she gave the woman’s hand a squeeze, “and where is Master Lance?”

About an hour later, fed, watered and washed Jasmine found herself walking towards Blackthorn Lake, it was down a very well hidden and narrow path that unless you knew you were looking for something you wouldn’t know it was there. She was glad she had worn a longer pair of pants as the path was almost overrun by the Blackthorn bush the city was named for, many times she had to stop to gently remove a branch that had stuck itself into the fabric of her pants and wouldn’t let go.

The housekeeper had left her alone as soon as her breakfast had been made, a beautiful stack of pancakes, with a blackthorn berry jam, cream and a variety of other toppings. Jasmine had devoured every last bite it tasted so good and when she had gone back upstairs to fetch her shoes, she had found the bedroom all straightened up, almost exactly like she had found it yesterday evening.

Wondering if she wasn’t related to Agatha, Jasmine kept walking down the path and it soon opened up to a rocky hill on either side, as she got closer so could make out Lance’s voice followed by a few growls, she hurried down the path and finally came to a stop at the edge of a minor drop downwards.

She managed to catch her balance and right herself before taking in the site of the lake, it was big and surrounded mostly by rocky hills, an abundance of trees and in particular – that blackthorn bush. The lake was a brilliant turquoise blue, so clear that you could see the pebbles in the water. Jasmine soaked it all in, enjoying the brisk breeze that swished through the trees.

She heard a shout and looked to her left, there she could make out Lance’s red-hair darting off swiftly in different directions as his Pokémon enclosed on him. Curious, Jasmine wrapped her cardigan around her tightly and headed over in that direction.

Lance hadn’t noticed her getting closer and neither had his Pokémon, they all seemed to be focused on what was happening, Lance’s Charizard, Aerodactyl and Dragonite were all flying over him, his Garchomp was bouncing on its two feet waiting for his trainers next move, his Gyarados was in the water, occasionally flinging water towards it’s trainer – which would now explain why his shirt was off.

Jasmine grinned to herself and walked towards the discarded and sopping wet shirt that had just been left in a pile; she reached for the shirt only to find that something heavy was hidden inside. There was a squeal and Jasmine stepped back with a gasp, drawing the attention of Lance and his Pokémon.

“Jasmine?” Lance sounded surprised to see her and she waved hesitantly, he made his way over to her but his Dragonite got there first, she landed a few feet from where Jasmine was and ambled the rest of the way to her. Dragonite looked happy to see her and not upset that she had interrupted her time with her Master.

“Hey girl,” Jasmine said warmly and reached out a hard to pat her, which Dragonite allowed. Jasmine continued patting Dragonite while Lance made his way towards her, “hey – what are you doing up? Have you-” the rest of Lance’s question was cut off by his Garchomp who zoomed past him and ended up on Jasmine’s other side.

Jasmine was taken aback by the eagerness of the Garchomp, he hovered all around her making her slightly wary of him and eventually she stopped patting Dragonite, annoyed by this, Dragonite stepped forward in front of Jasmine and let out a growl towards Garchomp.

Garchomp didn’t seem to understand that it wasn’t a game and continued to hover and jump all around Jasmine who could see the situation was about to get out of hand,  took a few steps back and stood on something soft.

“Dragonite, Garchomp!”

Lance it seemed had taken a hold of the situation, giving Jasmine a chance to see what she had stepped on, she looked down and noticed a young Dratini slithering away from her and towards Lance.

“Oh my god!” Jasmine cried out, making everything around her stop. Lance immediately withdrew from his Pokemon and came over to her, his eyes frantically roving over her, “what? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“No – but your Dratini is thanks to me!” Jasmine wailed and took a few more steps back away from the group, Lance furrowed his brow and looked around to find his Dratini curled up around his feet; he bent down and picked him up.

“He looks okay to me,” Lance tried to reassure Jasmine as he inspected his Pokémon, who was curling up nicely into the crook of Lance’s arms and resting.

“But-but, I picked up your shirt, I didn’t know he was in it! And I just wanted to dry it – and of course then I just had to step on the poor creature didn’t I?” In all the places in the world, I of course had to step on a Dragon Pokémon in a place where Dragon Pokémon are revered the most! Typical!” She had started her rant on an apologetic note and had then turned into a rage against herself, the contrast and her disgruntled look made Lance smile – which unfortunately Jasmine caught.

“It’s not funny!” Jasmine said and Lance did his best to curb his amusement.

“No – no it isn’t, but hey – Dratini is alright, really alright, currently sleeping at the moment.” Lance moved his arms briefly to let Jasmine have a look and see, she moved closer to have a look and smiled at the content look on the Pokemon’s face.

She breathed in deeply with relief, “that’s good. I’m so glad.”

“Do you want to hold him?”

It took a while for Jasmine to understand what Lance was saying, she only got when she looked at him. He was holding out Dratini for her to take, she held out her hands and shook them while stepping away, “no – no, no way!”

“Why not?” Lance asked following her slowly as she backed away.

“Because, because I’ll hurt him, that’s why!”

Lance laughed, “no you won’t, he’s survived everything else – so unless you have various weaponry hidden in that cardigan of yours I think he’ll be fine.”

Jasmine stopped when she backed into something, it turned out to be Dragonite stopping her from going any further, “traitor,” Jasmine muttered under her breath, receiving a small flack with Dragonite’s tail to her legs for the trouble. 

As Lance got closer with the Dratini, Jasmine tried to make herself small as possible, “no – seriously Lance, look how small he is. I’ll probably end up killing him – why do you think I have Steel Pokémon? They can generally withstand anything...including me!”

Lance stood so closely to her that their arms touched, “of course he’s small – he’s a hatchling, but he’s also strong and trust yourself. You will be fine.”

Jasmine took in a breath, “he’s a what?”

Lance gently passed over Dratini who Jasmine took with shaky arms, “he’s what we call a hatchling, a Pokémon egg that’s just been hatched.”

Jasmine watched with delight as Dratini didn’t immediately jump out of her arms and slide away, instead the Pokémon shuffled around a bit to get comfortable and then settled again.

“So he’s a baby? When was he hatched?” Jasmine asked, curious.

“Yesterday evening”, Lance ran his fingers lightly over the Dratini who twitched slightly and opened an eye to glare at Lance.

“And he’s yours now?” Jasmine asked. Lance tilted his head back and forth debating on how to put it, “not really – well, yes and no. I have the option to take him with me if I want and thus he would be mine, but he’s pretty special. He’s a baby of two of our finest Dragonite’s – he’s also the first male to be born from the pair, so the Elders reckon he has a lot of potential.”

“You don’t want him?” Jasmine asked surprised, “but he’s so cute!”

Lance chuckled and took a ball out of his pocket that he threw for his Pokémon, “I don’t know – i’ve got no doubt that he would be a powerhouse – especially with good training, but I have my girl and I couldn’t ask for better – it seems a bit greedy to have another one, someone else should be given the chance you know?”

Jasmine nodded her head, “I suppose so, but still, he’s pretty gorgeous – I’d take him if I could, not that I could probably train him as well as a member of Blackthorn could, but-”

“Hey,” Lance interrupted gently, “don’t sell yourself short – you were one of, if not the first to train the Steel type, a type that had never been discovered for, that no one knew anything about. That’s impressive. I come from a Clan that’s done nothing but train Dragon Pokémon for centuries, it’s all I know how to do, it’s in my blood – I was born for it. All that knowledge...I already had it, you had nothing but instinct and I reckon-” he stopped as he looked her; she was blushing slightly from the praise and was smiling warmly.

He let a small smile himself and met her directly in the eye, “I reckon if you trust yourself the way I trust you, then you and this little guy could give me a run for my money.”

The moment between them was charged, it made the hairs on the back of Lance’s neck stand up and an involuntary shiver roll down his back, for a moment Lance wondered if all he had said to Agatha hadn’t been true.

Jasmine interrupted the moment by clearing her throat and jutting her chin out to his Pokémon, “so, what were you guys doing before I arrived? Training?”

Lance shook his head slightly to clear it, “yeah – playing tag.”

Jasmine let that sink in and then turned to look at him incredulously, “playing _tag_?”

Lance looked at her, surprised, “yeah? You never played it as a kid?”

Jasmine let out a laugh, “yeah I did play it – as a _kid_ and never with my Pokémon!”

Lance just shrugged and turned a knowing smirk upon her, “well you don’t know what you’re missing.”

* * *

 

Despite having walked for another four hours and then some, Brock hadn’t seemed to make it anywhere near to where the battle site was, there were so many twists and turns in the Chasm that sometimes the thought of looking round the corner and catching the eye of a rather dangerous Pokémon was grating on his nerves.

He had walked passed his first hidey hole hours before and up until now he hadn’t found another, seeing another made him realise how much he needed rest. Pikachu was alert on his shoulder, but Brock didn’t know how long it had been since he had had some food, deciding to stop and start again after a few hours of sleep seemed to be the best bet.

He shoved his pack in first and Pikachu hopped down off his shoulder and scampered in next, finding the right angle, Brock managed to squeeze himself into the hole and be relatively comfortable, Pikachu rested on his stomach as he waited for Brock to get some food and drink out for both of them.

As the pair sat there munching, Brock thought about Ash – hoping that at least he had met up with Tracey and Clair so that he wasn’t by himself for too long. Sighing at the mess they were in at present, Brock went to take a sip of water but stopped when Pikachu suddenly jolted upright and looked towards the entrance to their hidey hole.

“Pikachu?” Brock asked worriedly, “what is it?”

The Pokémon didn’t make a sound but just abandoned his food and headed out of the door, “Pikachu!” Brock hastily got up and followed the Pokémon, leaving his pack in his rush.

He squeezed out of the hole to see Pikachu standing in the middle of the Chasm looking back the way they had just come from, he had his eyes closed and seemed to be listening for something.

Brock waited patiently to see what Pikachu could hear; it was about another minute in a half before the Pokémon opened his eyes and started jabbering at him before darting off quickly in front of him.

“Pikachu!” Brock followed immediately after the mouse Pokémon, “Pikachu – what’s up?” He could barely keep up with the yellow flash as he darted around corners and over big and small rocks with easy, “Dawn was right,” Brock huffed, “if only one was as agile.”

In the end, Brock heard it before he saw it – the sound of rushing water behind him. Brock didn’t know how much, but considering it was enough to make Pikachu want to outrun it if possible, then Brock trusted in him enough to follow.

The closer the water got, the louder it seemed, it became like a roaring sound and encompassed all of his senses, they weren’t going to be able to outrun it. “PIKACHU!” Brock let out a roar which made the Pokémon stop in his tracks, Brock sprinted as fast as he could and latched onto the Pokémon with both hands.

He held him close and turned around to see a colossal amount of water hurtling towards him, Brock took in a deep breath, turned his back and braced himself.

It was like being hit by trucks on all sides, the water rushed all around him, it was dark and he had no control over direction. He bumped into rocks, he was scratched and poked at by debris, Brock didn’t even know if he still had Pikachu within his grasp, he couldn’t feel any of his muscles- he could only feel the desperation of a lack of air in his lungs and still the water persisted.

His lungs burnt and his head was feeling fuzzier by the second, he couldn’t move his arms and legs, he didn’t even know which way the surface was, he floated for a few moments aimlessly, let the water settle gently all around him like a paradise.

He could see above him and shining light, it shimmered in the water and beckoned to him so he reached out a hand and wrapped his fingers around the light as it all went black.

* * *

 

 

Brock awoke to the sound of crackling wood and the smell of hot chocolate, he turned his head gently to find where he was. He could see the pot that no doubt held the melting chocolate he could smell and fire burning the wood away nicely.

He looked over the pot and saw Ash stirring the chocolate gently, he wanted to let out a choking sob of relief, instead he just spoke his friends name as best he could, but it still came out like a croak.

Ash looked up immediately and smiled, “how you feeling?”

Brock closed his eyes and let out a grimace, “like shit – you?”

“Worse.”

Brock opened one eye and stared at Ash while the trainer chuckled. “Well, you’ve got no broken bones or anything that I can see – you have a lot of bruises though, so you may want to stay there for a while and stay warm, let me tell you you’re pretty heavy and not an easy guy to undress.”

Brock smiled and then sat up quickly, ignoring the sharp pain in his ribs, “Pikachu – where is he!?”

Ash held up a hand, “Brock – it’s okay, just lie back down. Pikachu’s fine – he’s right here, look” Ash took off the blanket that was across his lap and underneath, sleeping peacefully, was Pikachu.

Brock smiled and gently lay back down, “is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. He was a bit tired and dehydrated, but he’ll be okay.” Ash gave his Pokémon a couple of light strokes and then covered him back over with the blanket.

“How did you find us?” Brock asked after a few moments, Ash stirred the pot a few more times to get the chocolate to melt, “I didn’t – we were all in the same place when I woke up.”

Brock furrowed his brow as Ash started pouring some water into the pot, “so...we all ended up in the same place? What about Tracey and Clair?”

Ash shook his head, “no sign of them – it’s like they’ve completely disappeared.”

Brock let out a sigh, “it’s so strange – so we both ended up in the same place – but yet Tracey and Clair didn’t? I figured that when the quake happened you fell and I followed you down...but I couldn’t find you, till now. The water must have pushed us all here.”

Ash shook his head, “no – we were a little further away, I moved us down here because when all three of us were together – it just seemed a little strange to me.”

“Strange that we all ended up in the same place? Like the water was meant to end there with us?” Brock asked shrewdly.

Ash nodded, “have you seen the Pokémon in here? The big ones?”

Brock heaved a sigh, “yeah – I saw a Golem, it rolled away and then there was a roar, a flash and then silence. A few minutes after that Pikachu and I were under water and now...here we are.”

“I don’t know what Pokémon I saw – but it looked pretty vicious,” Ash admitted while spooning out the hot chocolate, “but it didn’t look like it knew any water based moves – so I don’t know if it was a Pokémon trying to get us all to one point, or if they were trying to cleanse everything away to get what was in your hand.”

Brock was startled and looked down at his hands, he had been clutching onto what looked like an orb of sorts. It was glowing and the red and purple colours seemed to blend into one another, blue streaks flicked through the orb and glittered when hit by light.

“You wouldn’t let go of it,” Ash explained as he sat the mug down for Brock, “I tried to force it from your hand but I got nowhere, strange considering you were passed out.”

Feeling slightly ill at the thought, Brock relaxed his hand and turned his hand; the orb dropped from his hand and fell onto his stomach with a heavy thud. He let it stay there for a few moments before he sat up, wincing at the ache in his ribs, he grabbed his hot chocolate and took a sip.

“Any idea what it might be?” Brock asked, already knowing the answer.

Ash shook his head, “not a clue – but it’s something to take back at least. Something else to show everyone, which after we’ve rested is what we will do.”

Brock hummed as he let the chocolate soothe its way down his throat, “so we’re going back? It hasn’t even been two weeks yet Ash, we were told-”

“I know what we were told, but they know we’re in here Brock – the Pokémon know we’re in here.”

There was a stark silence as that sunk in, Brock placed his mug down with a shaky hand, “and you think they are looking for us- that’s what the water was about?”

Ash nodded, “maybe i’m wrong – maybe they don’t care about us, but...when I fell – I don’t remember much, but when I woke up I was hidden in a little cave, once I got out of there I went to have a drink and then I felt something coming along – whatever it was...it...” Ash trailed off and Brock waited patiently, not happy with the bewildered and nervous tone Ash had taken on.

“It was big and it had claws and all I could see was blood on those claws,” Ash began again and looked directly at Brock, “it put its hand into where I had once been and when it found that nothing was there, it let out what I think is a massive Hyper Beam attack that just decimated the whole area...after that it walked away and well...then the water. If you put two and two together...”

“It knows you’re in here and it’s looking for you...maybe just you specifically.” Brock finished with a sigh, “that’s why you want to get out of here then, you feel guilty about putting us all at risk.”

“I’m sorry Brock, I really am – I didn’t mean-”

“Ash,” Brock tried to placate him but was cut off by a loud roar somewhere behind them. Ash immediately jumped up and doused their little fire with the water that they had, Pikachu had jumped up and was standing near the smoking fire with his cheeks sparking.

“Bayleef, I need you to help Brock.”

Brock heard a rustling, quiet thumping sounds and then felt a cold sensation near his face, “hey girl,” Brock whispered as Bayleef nuzzled him gently.

Ash was hovering close and packing things up, “If you lean on Bayleef, I’ll grab all our gear and carry it.”

Brock gritted out the affirmative as he slowly stood up, letting the blanket fall away, he was dressed heavily in warm clothes and he could feel a bandage around his ribs, it seemed that Ash had prepared for this eventuality.

“You right?” Ash asked as he rolled the blanket hurriedly and stuffed it in his pack, Brock let out a grunt and swung his right arm around Bayleef’s neck and together the two shuffled off slowly.

It didn’t take long for Ash and Pikachu to catch up, they had barely been around the corner when Brock heard the thumping of running footsteps, “Brock – you there?” Came the whisper.

“Yep, I’m guessing no light for the rest of our journey?”

Ash held out a hand and put it on Brock’s shoulder, the area was pitch black and they wanted to stay together, “no – best not to draw more attention to ourselves, but if we stay to the wall we may find something we can hide in for a bit, let you heal some more. Maybe wait for a while to see if Tracy and Clair come this way.”

“Right,” Brock said and continued shuffling his feet forward, his chest ached with every step but he continued going, they needed to get to some relative safety and while they were in the Chasm that seemed to be next to impossible, climbing up wasn’t a good idea in his currently position which was when he got the idea.

“Stop, wait-” Brock halted the procession, “I have an idea – do you have any rope?”

Ash took a moment, “yeah I do, why?”

“If you can get Bayleef to use vine whip and get me to the top, i’ll take the rope with me, send it down and you can climb up – we can head to the entrance, I’ll go back with the information and you can work on finding Clair and Tracy.”

Ash paused, as much as he didn’t like breaking apart the group (they were four for a reason) it did make sense, especially when Brock was hurt – and to suggest himself leaving- Brock must have been in a lot of pain.

“all right, let me get the rope,” Ash fumbled for the straps of his backpack when suddenly Pikachu let out a electric shock.

“PIKACHUUUUU!”

“What- Pikachu?” Ash tripped and fell backwards as his Pokémon jumped from his shoulder and continued blasting the area, “Pikachu! What’s going on? Pik-”

There was a loud growl behind him and Ash found himself being picked up and flung to the side, he hit the other side of the wall with a heavy grunt, he opened his eyes, dazed and confused, the shocks that Pikachu were emitting lit up the area and allowed him to see what was happening.

Brock was looking around, hand still on Bayleef’s neck, “Ash? Ash!”

“I’m over here!” He called weakly.

Brock looked around and when he saw Ash crumpled down on the other side of the chasm, “what – how did you get there, what happened?”

“Don’t!” Don’t move away, there is something here, I don’t know, I-”Ash stopped cold, Pikachu was still blasting away, Brock had shuffled halfway too him and he could see a hungry looking face with razor sharp teeth and deadly intent coming up behind Bayleef.

“BAYLEEF!”

* * *

 

 

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash & Brock meet up with someone new, Cynthia and Agatha deal with earth moving events and Jasmine and Lance get closer.

The sound was something Ash would remember forever, that and the look in Bayleef's eyes as a clawed hand was thrust into the back of her neck and came out through the other side. The sound was squelching and wet, it echoed through the cave. Bayleef's eyes showed shock for a few seconds before they became lifeless.

Through the flickering of Pikachu's bolts, Ash could make out Bayleef slumping to the ground with blood pouring out of her and the Sandslash immediately drinking it up like a last meal.

Ash couldn't move, he could only watch as his beloved Pokémon lay there, unmoving, not defending herself.

Dead.

He didn't know how long he blocked himself out from everything, he thought about nothing, he shut his eyes to see more black so that he didn't have to look upon Bayleef and her body being ripped open.

It was the sound that brought him back, the sound of her being physically ripped open, it was loud and vicious and sent a rage through him. The thought of his friend being defiled in such a way was more than he could bear.

He had already failed her once, he wouldn't fail her a second time.

He didn't think about what he was doing, but he got himself up and starting running towards the Sandslash, he sprinted past Brock who was still clutching his ribs and didn't seem to know what was going on, and although he wasn't sure what his intention was, Ash's body slammed into the Sandslash and tackled him away from the feast inside Bayleef.

Ash immediately let go of the Pokémon and stood in front of Bayleef, the Sandslash was angered by the interruption of its meal. It recovered quickly and turned to look at Ash with its eyes glowing a dark red. It hissed and bared its sharp teeth.

"Yeah, you want to go?" Ash taunted and matched the Pokémon's left and right movements with his own, waiting for the attack. With a growl, the Sandslash launched himself towards Ash all teeth and claws bared, Ash wrestled with the Pokémon for a few seconds and was able to push him back away again.

Ash knew he would be bleeding; he had felt the sting on his chest as the claws had made contact and swiped through his shirt to meet the skin.

He didn't care.

He prepared for another attack when a voice surprised him from behind.

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump."

Ash quickly turned around and barely missed being hit by a large jet of water. He stumbled back a few steps and fell down; he landed in something warm and sticky. He lifted his hand to see what it was, when the thick, red liquid dripped down his hand he crushed his fingers into a fist and let out an agonized cry.

He had fallen into Bayleef's blood.

Ash bowed his head, uncaring of what was going on around him; he dug his fingers into the earth and let the tears run down his face.

Although it was dark in the cave now that Pikachu had stopped blasting everywhere, Ash could still feel the body behind him, a stark reminder of what he had just lost.

He had failed her, the Pokémon that loved him with every aspect of her being, the one that demanded a side of his shoulder, the forever happy, extremely stubborn, loving Pokémon that had been with him since his first trek through Johto.

He would never see her again, she would never run to give him a cuddle which ended up more like a body slam, she would never roll around in the flowers that she loved doing so much, she would never see another sunrise.

It was the greatest insult, not only did she to go in such a violent, horrific way, but that her final resting place was inside a dark, dank and cruel cave. She should have been buried with flowers and with the sun shining down on her.

Ash let out a choking sob as he turned around to look at the body, her eyes were still wide open, the green tint of her body had faded to a greyish colour, the hole in her neck was ghastly and her entire chest cavity and belly area had been ripped right open across the middle, with all her insides just collapsing out and lying there for anything or anyone to chew on.

He placed his hand carefully on her stomach, trying to avoid the hole in her body and whispered apologies and empty promises that he would see her again.

He was so caught up in Bayleef that he failed to notice those behind him.

"Oh no," Brock whispered as the headlamp on Tracey's head shone a light on the deceased Pokémon.

Pikachu, who was exhausted from all the blasting, still managed the worm his way out of Tracey's arms and skittle towards Ash and Bayleef.

"Pika..." Pikachu cuddled into Ash to give as much comfort as possible, Ash sniffed and bit his lip, not wanting to pat his Pokémon with the blood of another on his hands, he simply thanked Pikachu and took the support he offered.

Brock looked at the rest of the group with despair, Clair had one of his arms wrapped around him as she supported his weight, she was avoiding looking at the scene but Brock could feel her hands clenching into the fabric of jacket.

Tracey knelt down on the other side of Ash and put a hand on his shoulder, "Ash..." Tracey began, he sounded lost, "I'm so sorry, if we had come sooner, or..."

Ash shook his head, "it's not your fault," he said thickly, his eyes still full of tears.

"It's not yours either," Brock spoke up, knowing which avenue Ash was heading down.

Ash didn't bother replying.

"We need to get out of here." Came the voice of someone Ash didn't recognise, a quiet growl of approval from the Blastoise followed and Tracey let out a huff of impatience.

"We're okay for the moment, we have our headlamps going and-"

"And we have a dead Pokémon that the Defiled Ones are going to smell and sooner or later it's going to be a buffet here."

"Have some tact!" Clair hissed, "his Pokémon has just died, right in front of him! Let him mourn for a bit."

"I'm not saying don't mourn, I'm saying let's go and he can mourn in a safer area!"

Clair opened her mouth but Brock cut her off, "I hate to say this, but he's right – we're not safe here. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not in the best way right now and could use a bit of rest, another run isn't something I think I'll be up to for a while. So, selfishly – I say we... bury Bayleef and keep going."

Clair and Tracey shared a look, none of them wanted to admit it but it was probably the best idea, Tracey took in a breath and turned back to Ash, who was still leaning over Bayleef.

"Ash? If...if it's alright with you, we'd like to bury Bayleef here?"

Ash didn't say a word; Tracey looked up and sent a worried look to Brock and Clair.

There was a snort, "bury the Pokémon? It's going to be dug up anyway and we don't have time to waste. Let's stop the crying and get a move on. I'm not dying here on account of you lot."

"Then go."

Clair, Tracey and Brock whipped around as Ash removed his hands from Bayleef, "Go, no-one's asked you to stay. If you're so afraid then what are you still doing here, run."

"Afraid?" There was a scoff. "Believe me boy, I'm not afraid. I've seen things in here you could only see in your nightmares. I'm just not stupid and if you're not going to listen that's your own fault.

Ash took his time standing up, blood dripped down his pant legs and down from his hands, "my nightmare's huh? Interesting, considering I've also seen some things...during my 'boyhood' that you could only see in your wildest dreams, so I guess we're on even footing."

"Look,  _kid_ -"

It was the patronising voice that did it, Ash understood very well what kind of danger they were in and he didn't need some  _stranger_  treating him like a child on top of everything else.

He turned around, eyes glaring and growl in his throat, "who do you think you are-?"

Ash stopped immediately, jolting into place. It was like he was looking into a mirror, an older mirror.

The stranger in front of him had the same hair and colour, had the same lean build as him and face-shape. They had different coloured eyes and the stranger in front of him probably had a few more wrinkles around the mouth and eyes, but the similarities were obvious and heartbreaking.

The stranger, to his credit, met him head on and didn't flinch. Ash noted a flicker in the eyes though; he knew who was standing in front of him, just like Ash did. The resemblance was too uncanny to mistake.

Tracey cleared his throat awkwardly, "Ash.."

The stranger looked like he was going to hold out his hand to shake, but in the end just rubbed it down his pant leg. Ash nodded,, "who are you?" He asked again with a bitter tone to voice, already knowing the dreaded answer.

The stranger stood tall, "I'm Richard Ketchum, but you can call me Red."

* * *

 

Cynthia entered the Library to the Indigo Plateau, coffee in one hand, letter in the other and a grimace on her face.

"Tell your  _Champion_  that I neither find this funny or endearing and next time, I will kill him." She flung said letter across the table next to her to have it land neatly in front of Agatha who picked it up and perused it leisurely.

The letter was covered in crude drawing of rabbits, some with funny sayings written neatly across the top, Lance had addressed it to "Honey Bunny." Agatha raised a brow and looked over her glasses to Cynthia, the young woman didn't looked pleased as she took a large gulp of her coffee and winced as it went down her throat.

Agatha smiled to herself, "you can tell him yourself when he gets back from Olivine in a few days." She thrust the letter back onto the table and continued on reading the text in front of her.

Cynthia tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder as she sat down; she gently placed her half-full mug on the table, "Olivine?" She asked, surprised. "What's he doing there? The letter says that he's still in Blackthorn...probably because the Elders are making things difficult," she added snootily.

Agatha turned another page, "He has Jasmine of the Olivine City Gym with him, they have...come to an arrangement of sorts."

Cynthia pursed her lips, "stupid boy."

Agatha sighed, "regardless of his choice, they are currently in Blackthorn researching and then they will go on, briefly I imagine, to Olivine. Jasmine has assured him that there will be nothing to be found there but old Sailor's myths and Folktales."

"All of which can sometimes and generally do have a basis in fact," Cynthia pointed out and took another sip of her coffee.

"Be that as it may, they should be back in a few days. Blackthorn will not give up a lot of their precious knowledge to help the League in this regard, not with Jasmine there and certainly not without knowing exactly what it going on."

Cynthia tilted her head with a thoughtful look covering her face, "do you think Lance will involve them at all? I mean," she added hurriedly at Agatha's scandalized look at the suggestion. "I just mean, that if he finds nothing, or nothing is found during this time, that maybe he will take...desperate measures?"

Agatha scoffed, "Lance wouldn't and even if he wanted to, he couldn't without the permission of the entirety of the Elite Four and I assure you," she fixed Cynthia with a beady stare, "I will not be giving permission."

Cynthia moved her head from left to right, "yeah..." she drew out the yeah to emphasise the 'but' which Agatha raised a brow at to get her to explain.

Cynthia wrapped both her hands around her cooling coffee mug, "Lance has broken the rules before – as we both know, and recently I might add."

She was referring to Lance's involvement with Ash and Brock and that little mission they had planned. Agatha let out a sigh, "yes, he did. But, he has been punished for that...in his own way."

Cynthia snorted, "what? But not being chosen to go into Victory Road? Most of us would consider that a blessing."

Agatha turned another page in the book she was reading through, "and this is where you and Lance differ, the only reason he did what he did was to make sure he would end up in Victory Road, it backfired. Lance is not a man who likes sitting around doing nothing, knowing that other's are in Victory Road where he is not, it would no doubt be killing him on the inside."

Cynthia wrinkled her nose, "you sound...happy at the thought?"

Agatha said nothing and just turned another page, Cynthia cleared her throat awkwardly, "but he still went against League Law, under the circumstances he should really be..."

She drew off when Agatha gently raised her head, "he should be expelled from the League and from his seat as Champion and also have his Pokémon privileges revoked, if I remember rightly." Agatha spoke carefully.

Cynthia looked uncomfortable, "I'm not saying we should do it, they do seem rather harsh, especially under the circumstances. But Lance can't keep getting away with stuff like this, like you said, it's only going to backfire and if anyone else other than you and I know about this...it could lead to serious consequences for him!"

Agatha nodded, "agreed, he cannot keep getting away with this...but then again – under the same guidelines, Ash Ketchum and his merry band should also be at fault. You and I will be at fault for keeping it a secret...the League institution would be rocked and I wonder if many would no longer trust us."

Cynthia stared at her for a moment, "that's going a bit overboard don't you think?"

Agatha shook her head, "not at all, how many things has Lance gotten away with? How many of which do we know about and have kept secret from everyone?"

"Lance wouldn't implicate us," Cynthia said, assured in her belief.

Agatha smiled, "no he wouldn't, but others that want what we have...would. By whatever means necessary."

Cynthia furrowed her brow, "you mean...the Clans? Or just Blackthorn in particular?"

Agatha shrugged and Cynthia laughed hesitantly, "you can't believe that Blackthorn would serve up Lance as a means to an end, that's too far – even for you!"

Agatha didn't meet her eyes and just flicked with the pages of her book, "I know what the Blackthorn Clan is capable of...I've seen it." Her words were careful and deliberate and they made the hair on the back of Cynthia's neck go up. "You weren't there, all those years ago. At that point you didn't even know Lance...but, he was a young boy who showed  _so_  much promise..." Agatha trailed off and stared into space.

Curiosity eating at her, Cynthia leaned forward and placed a hand over Agatha's; she shook and spoke the older woman's name, she had to say it four times before Agatha came back again.

"Are you alright Agatha?" Cynthia asked worriedly, removing her hand from the older woman.

Agatha cleared her throat, "regardless, Lance has been punished in his own way, and quite spectacularly by whom he considered a great friend – of which you know Lance does not have many of."

Cynthia nodded, still bewildered buy the strange behaviour and abrupt change in subject. "Yes, Agatha. But I was-"

"You may do what you like with the information that you have regarding Lance's many indiscretions," Agatha interrupted, going back to her book, "I cannot stop you, however I do ask you this: who would you have chosen to go into Victory Road? I think I speak for many when I say Ash Ketchum was the best and arguably, only choice.

Cynthia was startled, "yes- yes I agree about Ash, I would have asked him myself had the opportunity arisen, but – Agatha!" Cynthia hissed the woman's name to get her to look at her.

Agatha slowly rose her head from the book, surprised at Cynthia's hiss.

The Champion of Sinnoh looked at her old friend imploringly, "you cannot believe that I, of all people, would ever rat out Lance to-"

Cynthia broke off when she felt a rumbling from underneath her, she looked around as the sound started to get louder and books on the shelves around them started falling, "it's an earthquake?" She said confused, and suddenly there was a massive jolt that had Cynthia holding on to the table in front of her, halfway off her chair.

Agatha hadn't been so lucky; the force of the jolt had knocked her haphazardly from her chair. "Agatha?!" Cynthia yelled loudly, she looked around and saw the few people that were in the library at this hour under the desks, all looking frightened.

Cynthia carefully made her way under the desk, avoiding the falling books and holding on to the heavy table legs, Agatha was on her side, trying to heave herself underneath the large wooden table to no avail.

Cynthia quickly shuffled over to her friend's side and pulled her under, shouting in her ear if she was alright.

Agatha nodded briefly and then jerked her head around as a loud bang came from behind them, Cynthia turned around to see that a book case had tipped over and crashed onto the desk and floor, snapping and chipping the wood.

Happy to see that no one had been near the accident Cynthia turned back around, placed one arm over Agatha's back to brace her and held on to the table leg to ride out the rest of the earthquake.

What was probably only less than a minute seemed to go on for longer, but eventually the rumbling stopped and the books stopped shaking, it was a good ten seconds before people started to move out from under the desks.

Cynthia let out a sigh of relief and looked at Agatha, "are you alright?"

Agatha nodded, "yes, I'm fine. I may need some help getting up though. Go and check on everyone else in the room and then come back, I'll get myself out from under here."

Cynthia knew better than to argue with the stubborn woman, she deftly got herself out from under the desk and went to check on the few people in the Library. Everyone was physically alright and hadn't been hurt; it was more that they were shaken up by the severity of the quake.

"Glad that you're all okay, please head down to the dining area, I'm sure hot drinks and food will be made available for you shortly, we will leave the clean-up here till later, at the moment I'd like everyone to be together. Please be aware of aftershocks as well!" Cynthia called after them as the small group all headed out of the Library and towards the dining area.

Once they had all left, Cynthia had a quick look around to survey the damage and then went to Agatha.

She had managed to pull herself out from under the table and was sitting on the floor with her back up against one of the chairs. Cynthia didn't say anything as she sat herself down next to Agatha, they sat in silence for a while before Agatha spoke up, "is everyone alright?"

"Yes, as far as I'm aware everyone in the Library is alright, maybe a bit shaken – I'll have to get down to the dining area and do a check around the Plat-"

"That's not necessary," Agatha interrupted tiredly, "our helpers here are trained for any instance such as this; they will be going around checking rooms and moving people to the dining area as we speak."

Cynthia nodded, "what about structural damage? I don't know much about the Indigo Plateau's history...except that it's a rather old building and-"

Agatha sighed and interrupted Cynthia again, "don't worry – you are as safe in the Indigo Plateau as you are anywhere else. We do routine checks and are strictly up to code, however I do worry about some areas of Kanto, which is why I need to you to help me get up so I can find the details about this earthquake and the damage it may have caused to other areas."

Cynthia wrung her hands, "Agatha I can't do nothing! I know this is not my region but please let me help, I just-"

Agatha let out a chuckle, "first things first, get me up and then we will talk about what I need you to do."

Cynthia stood up and stretched, "and what might that be?"

Agatha held out her hands for Cynthia to grab, once she was up and had her walking stick back in hand, Agatha started towards the doors, "I need for you to get everyone back here, send out messages via the Pidgeot and tell them it's urgent."

Cynthia was startled; she followed behind Agatha asking questions that Agatha didn't bother to answer. They finally made it to the top of the staircase where Cynthia stopped her, "Agatha," she whispered, trying not to draw attention to themselves to those that were milling in the entrance hall and in the dining area.

"Agatha, what is going on? We all still have a week left? Why bring everybody back? It makes no sense?"

"On the contrary, it makes perfect sense. That was a big earthquake; if it was big enough to make things fall in the Indigo Plateau, then imagine what it was capable of doing to Victory Road."

Agatha looked at her pointedly and then carried on slowly down the stairs; Cynthia watched her go, her face paling as she understood what Agatha was planning. Cynthia hurried on down the stairs, "you want to send another team in there?"

"I do, but that is not up to me. So, hush. We do not want to scare people, as of now it's just a thought."

Cynthia opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself when a nervous looking man came up to her holding a light blue envelope.

"Master Cynthia, I...I-"

The man stuttered and Cynthia resisted the urge to breathe in a deep sigh, she shared an exasperated look with Agatha, "yes? How can I help?"

The man stuttered a bit more and then held out the envelope to her. Cynthia took it and looked it over, she met the man's eyes, "you would like me to open and read it now I assume?"

The man nodded, "he's waiting for you outside the gates, said that you would be very interested in what he would have to say."

Cynthia furrowed her brow and looked at Agatha, who looked as suspicious as she felt. Cynthia swooped some of her hair over her shoulder and quickly opened the envelope. Inside was a card with three words on it.

Cynthia held the ends of the card so tight they ripped in some places; Agatha noted her reaction and questioned her sharply.

Cynthia was seeing red, she felt like she couldn't breathe –he  _couldn't_  be here, how could  _he_ of all people be  _here?_  She looked down at the card again; she could hear him saying the words, the patronising words, the arrogance just dripping off his tongue.

She crushed the card in one hand, making Agatha raise a brow and the man jump slightly. Agatha turned to the man, "thank you – please go and check upon the rest of the plateau for any damage." The man nodded quickly and scurried off, happy to be leaving the area.

With the state Cynthia was in, Agatha didn't blame him. Even with Lance's teasing, Cynthia had never become like this. She was breathing heavily through her nostrils and her jaw was locked, she looked like she could take on whatever was in Victory Road by herself with her hands tied behind her back and still come out on top without a scratch.

"Cynthia?"

The blonde jerked her head to show that she was listening, "I don't know what is contained in the note you received, but whoever gave that note to our helper is still out there."

Cynthia let out a harsh laugh, "let him stay out there. He's not welcome here, ever." She turned around to head up the stairs but Agatha stopped her with a thump of her walking stick and call of her name.

"You forget where you are Cynthia, Champion you may be, but that is of Sinnoh. You are in my domain and I reserve the right to know who it is loitering outside my gates. Since  _he_  seems to such a burden on your behaviour, I will go out and deal with him myself."

Cynthia shrugged, "do what you want, but believe me when I tell you that every word out of his mouth is a stone-cold lie." She continued up the stairs and out of sight, Agatha waited a few more seconds before carrying on down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she informed one of the helpers in charge to keep everyone away from the gates and to keep them calm.

After trusting that she had got her point across, Agatha made her way towards the Entrance Hall doors and outside. It was an overcast day, no rain as of yet, but it was on the verge. As she slowly stepped towards the gates she noted that they were closed and frowned.

She looked passed and held in her look of surprise when she saw who was on the other side. Although his head was bowed and he was dressed drably in a grey hooded sweatshirt, black trousers, trainers and fingerless gloves, it was the shock of blue hair that gave him away.

She remembered him from a few years ago, he had been the young man who had caused havoc in Sinnoh, Ash had put a stop to him and since then no-one had ever heard from him.

Agatha wondered what it was about him that made Cynthia so on edge and angry. She stopped a ways from the gate, "what do you want." She asked without hesitation.

He raised his head and looked her directly in the eyes, he gave a little smirk, "Ah – Master Agatha, I would like to see Cynthia-"

"Master, Master Cynthia," Agatha interrupted. Yes – she could see now, she could see very well why he put Cynthia out of whack.

His smirked widened, "force of habit, I knew her when we were children you see – I never called her by her...title."

Agatha noted that he didn't apologise and to give away that tid-bit of information, Agatha hated it when people tried to play the game with her.

"I'll ask you one last time, what do you want?" Agatha asked calmly.

"I would like to see Cynthia." He repeated, this time there was no smirk. Only a seriousness that didn't seem to make sense.

"She does not wish to see you, I suggest that you leave the premises – or find yourself thrown down the stairs you came up."

"Really," he looked past Agatha, "you don't  _wish_ to see me? I'm sure your dreams are filled with more important things than that, such as maybe dealing with...these pesky earthquakes? Hmm, Cynthia?

Agatha didn't miss the knowing tone and was about to question what he meant by that when a hand touched her shoulder. Cynthia came to stand next to her and stared past the gates.

"Cyrus."

He didn't smirk at her, only met her gaze and said the same three words he'd written on the card with that immaculate handwriting of his.

"Don't be stupid."

* * *

 

Not much had been spoken as the group in Victory Road made their way through the Chasm, Tracey, Clair and Ash had all taken turns carrying the exhausted Pikachu and a hurt Brock as they wound their way through.

Tracey and Clair had assured Brock and Ash that where they were going was safe – or safer than most places in Victory Road, Richard or 'Red' led the way, occasionally looking behind to see if they were all still following, but other than that, he didn't speak.

He and Ash hadn't spoken since they had all decided to leave, Bayleef, in the end, had been buried. Brock had released his Geodude and asked him to dig a hole for Bayleef. Nothing had been said once she was placed in the hole and the dirt put over her, there had only been a grim silence before Red had started moving.

Tracey had then given Pikachu to Ash to hold and joined Clair on Brock's other side to start following Red. They had traded off a few times since then, Brock whispering apologies when the exchange was made.

Tracey, of course, had loudly exclaimed that it was fine, Clair had just smiled and Ash hadn't said a word. Brock understood, he himself had been stunned when he had looked upon the Trainer.

In some ways, it almost overshadowed what had happened to Bayleef. Although Brock could still hear the sounds of her death, he was lucky to not have watched it, unlike Ash. It had arguably been one of the most disorientating moments of his life, Pikachu had suddenly just started blasting and had carried on in such a way until he was spent, it was odd behaviour and Brock still wasn't sure if it was involuntary or not.

Then, out of nowhere, a Blastoise appeared and sent a huge jet of water that had flown past him and attacked the Sandslash head on. It didn't take very long for the Sandslash to faint, to which then Brock had been approached and supported by Clair, while Tracey arrived with an exhausted Pikachu.

They had briefly introduced 'Red' to him before they had found Ash in the darkness, kneeling next to an almost unrecognisable Bayleef.

Brock had barely had time to get used to the fact that he had met Ash's father, Ash had met his father and Bayleef was now gone, before they had set off for places unknown.

The reassurance from Tracey and Clair that it was a 'safe space' didn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things, but Brock did wonder about why 'Red' was in Victory Road. Usually it was closed to the general public and only trainers sanctioned by the Kanto Elite Four were allowed in, unless it was opened for the Indigo Plateau Conference.

It didn't make sense, if any of the Kanto Elite Four, if  _Lance_  knew that Red was in here...why wouldn't they have told Ash? Unless they didn't know he was in here?

He also wondered about the Blastoise, wondered if that was the Pokémon that had sent that first colossal amount of water that had sent him and Pikachu hurtling through the Chasm and if they were the ones looking for the orb currently resting in Ash's backpack?

Brock had so many questions and not enough answers, but he knew one thing for certain, he didn't trust this 'Red' as far as he could throw him, currently however, they were at his mercy. Tracey and Clair were following him, assured in their belief of his good nature; he himself was incapacitated for the time being, in need of medical attention and currently in a lot of pain. Ash was...Brock let out a sigh, it wasn't as bad, but it was similar behaviour to how he was when Misty left.

The rage wasn't there, the confusion wasn't there and arguably, the youth wasn't there either. But the silent solemnity of his current mood was similar to how he was when Misty left; Brock knew Ash would be taking in everything. A lot had happened in the last hour, the death of a beloved Pokémon, meeting his long-lost parent; it had to take a toll somehow.

The plan had once been to find Tracey and Clair and get the hell out of dodge; they had now found Tracey and Clair but were not heading towards the entrance, in point of fact...

"Hey, is it just me, or are we heading deeper into Victory Road?" Brock whispered quietly to Tracey.

Tracey nodded, "yeah. It's actually pretty interesting, this Chasm runs all the way down into the next level and then splits off into different directions, there's-"

Brock stopped paying attention to what Tracey was rambling about and fought to urge to stop, they were going the wrong way. He could feel it. They needed to go back, they needed to get out.

He took a look at Ash who was currently carrying Pikachu and just following along, Brock wanted to grab him and shake him out of his funk; he needed him to take command again.

"Alright," the whole group came to a halt as Red spoke and halted, Brock looked up ahead and felt his heart drop at what he saw, it was a another cliff, with a rope attached.

He tore his eyes away to look at Red who was looking at him, sizing him up. Brock let out a sigh, "what's the point of dragging me all this way if you thought you weren't going to get me down?" He asked sardonically, "I'll have to either be lowered down with someone at the other end, or have to hold onto someone on their way down."

Red smiled slightly and unsnapped a Pokéball from his waist, he returned Blastoise and then let out his Alakazam. "Alakazam here will Teleport us down as a group," Red explained as he moved towards them with his Pokémon swaggering behind him.

Brock raised an eyebrow, "if you could Teleport down there, why not just Teleport us to this 'safe place?'

Red didn't answer and soon Brock found himself stumbling against Tracey and Clair as they landed with a jolt. Alakazam was quickly put away and Blaistoise was brought back out again.

The walk continued from then on, Tracey had been right, the Chasm did seem to delve deep and then cut off in many different directions, they went a hard right and it seemed to keep getting lighter and lighter. After about an hour the headlamps were turned off and Brock could hear the rushing of water.

He was surprised to find a small lake formed with a waterfall crashing loudly into it. He let his mouth gape open as Clair let out a relieved sigh, "finally!" She immediately left Brock's side and jumped into the lake, Tracey let out a laugh and continued past Red and Ash, "c'mon let's get you inside and we can have a look at those ribs."

"Inside?" Brock asked, his question was soon answered as they walked behind the waterfall to enter into a cave, there were many candles littered about, Tracey and Clair's packs were there and there was a variety of pots and pans littered about with a gas cooker nearby.

"Not to rag on Red's hospitality, but you're cooking is infinitely better." Tracey said as he lowered Brock to the floor gently. Brock let out a laugh and then winced a bit, Clair had come and sat on the edge of cave where the waterfall was just in front of her, "pretty neat, huh?" She asked, "I had no idea something like this could exist down here."

Brock shrugged, "me either, you would probably have to ask Ash, although it's been a while he may remember. Misty and I weren't allowed into Victory Road – it's only for those challenging The Elite Four that get to go through, or for Trainers that have won or proved their worth to do some training." He sent a pointed look towards Red who ignored him and set about getting some food for Blastoise.

Brock, with the help of Tracey, managed to get his shirt off in one piece and Clair let out a hiss through her teeth as she saw the extent of the damage, "jeez! How on earth were you still walking? You're black and blue all over!"

Brock shrugged as Tracey took off Ash's bandaging, "it probably looks worse than feels. If I couldn't walk...well then I'd definitely let you know."

"Hmmm, well" Tracey interrupted, "Ash did a pretty good job, there's not a lot more I can do other than give you painkillers and strap it for you. But you will need to rest-up, probably for a few days."

"We don't have a few days," Brock insisted as Tracey re-wrapped his bandages, "in fact – we probably should have head back already, instead of coming here."

"We need more wood," Red spoke up casually.

"Yeah, we do. I'll just finish up here – Clair can you get Pikachu from Ash? I'll take Ash with me," once he had pinned Brock's bandages he got up and went to fetch Ash and Clair followed, leaving Brock and Red alone in the cave.

The silence was loaded, Red seemed to know that Brock didn't trust him and if anything, it amused him. Brock looked out past the waterfall and saw Clair sitting at the water's edge, gently petting Pikachu and her feet dabbling in the water, she looked right at home. Brock wondered how long Tracey and Clair had been with Red and what he might have done or said to get their trust so implicitly.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Red spoke up quietly while Blastoise munched away happily on his food.

Brock snorted, "I suppose you mean more so than you already have?" Red just met his eyes and Brock shook his head tiredly, "that has nothing to do with me, Ash has never discussed you with me and until he does, or till you endanger his life in anyway, I won't get involved. However, what does bother me is why you're in here in the first place. Especially with what's going on, you call them 'The Defiled Ones?"

Red shrugged, "It seemed appropriate at the time." He didn't elaborate further and Brock let out a frustrated sigh, "look – you want to talk about something, you didn't send Tracey out for 'wood' alone, you sent him away, knowing that he would take Ash out with him, knowing that Clair would sit guard. What do you want to know?"

Red eyed him, "you know, for someone with what looks like fractured ribs, you're quite antagonistic. Towards me in particular. What did I ever do to you?"

Brock moved to get more comfortable, "it's not what you've done, it's what you might do."

"I said I wouldn't hurt him."

"Yeah, him – meaning Ash. Who knows what you may do to the rest of us."

Red rolled his eyes at that comment and stood up, "maybe it's just the pain talking, or maybe this is you 'not getting involved' it doesn't matter either way, but for now, rest. You're going to need it."

* * *

 

Jasmine did her best to hold in her giggle as Lance made a face in front of her displaying his boredom. They were both currently in the shrine, pouring over the books that had been delegated to them by the Shrine Elders.

It was late in the afternoon on their sixth day in Blackthorn and she still didn't like it there, although she had to admit, there were things that made it better. The housekeeper for one, whose name was Sylvia; she consistently made the best food Jasmine had ever tasted.

When she had mentioned this to Lance he had laughed and nodded, explaining that Agatha had even enjoyed it, so much so that she had asked if the elder woman wouldn't mind coming to cook for the Indigo Plateau, to which the woman had politely refused, saying that Blackthorn was her home.

Jasmine could understand why, there were a few things in Blackthorn that made it rather special, other than her food – the hidden beach that she and Lance often spent their mornings on. He had gotten her quite hooked on Pokémon Tag, she had released all of her Pokémon and found that they also enjoyed the game, she and her team were currently winning, but she was pretty sure that tomorrow morning Lance would either be equal or beating her team.

And another thing was the sunsets, she hadn't known about them until Lance had knocked on her door and then had unceremoniously dragged her out by the hand to show her from their balcony. It was now another one of their 'things,' their days seem to run together starting with a yummy breakfast in the morning, she would then meet Lance at the beach (he got up way earlier than her, she had told him in no uncertain terms how weird she found it) they would then do a few rounds of Pokémon Tag, only to come back and research at the Shrine. Dinner would then follow with a nice cup of tea to wash down the day and watch the Sun set.

It felt more like a holiday than anything else, she felt relaxed and happy, she felt bad a couple of times as she hadn't thought about what had been going on in the grand scheme of things, many a time she had found herself smiling fondly at something Lance had said, only to realise that there were those that were probably enduring much worse for the sake of people such as herself.

Lance had eventually drawn out some of her worries one morning while they were at the beach, they had continued to allow the Pokémon to play while Dratini, now extremely comfortable in her presence, had curled up on her stomach to sleep and they had sat down to talk about Ash and company.

To be honest, the chat hadn't made her feel better about the situation, but it hadn't meant to. It was a calamity that arguably may not be fixed in the near future and could have lasting damage to all that she knew and to all those she held dear. In Lance's words, she could only have faith in the people around her and hope that everything would be okay.

What had happened next, she refused to now think about. It had been a mistake and it didn't mean anything. Lance had laughed it off and should she.

Except that now, every time she saw him smile, every time he said something funny to make her laugh, or every time she watched his profile as he watched the Sun set with her, she was reminded.

Sometimes she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, the brief pressure, the hesitation, the second almost. If Lance hadn't laughed it off as easy as he did then Jasmine would have wondered about the seriousness of what happened.

She was engaged, she was engaged and she had kissed another man. She was engaged, she had kissed another man...and she'd enjoyed it.

Arguably she could blame Dratini, the meddlesome Pokémon had started it all, getting them closer, entwining their hands so close and not letting them go making their faces close together as they tried to work out the knot that Dratini had made. It really had been an accident, up until that point she hadn't even thought about Lance in that way. Now she couldn't stop.

Jasmine knew she should tell Falkner, but he was a proud man. The thought of his fiancé sharing a kiss with The Dragon Master, current Champion of the Kanto & Johto Leagues and world renowned Pokémon Trainer, of all the people...it could be a crack in their relationship that would never heal. She didn't want that. She loved Falkner and wanted to be married to him, she just couldn't get the damn kiss out of her head.

"Oh look, Breeding 101, I'm sure that will have something of value in it." Lance said sarcastically, drawing Jasmine out of her thoughts and throwing the book away from him. He let out a sign of frustration. "I don't know why we even bothered. There won't be anything here."

She smiled at him, "well you never know – maybe they would have slipped up and left something here by accident?"

Lance shook his head, "no – anything worth seeing will be deeper in the Shrine, places even I haven't been that only the Grand Master Elder knows about."

Jasmine bit her lip, "I don't suppose if you asked nicely?"

Lance rubbed a hand over his face, "even if I did...I'd still have to let him know why I want to see them."

"And you can't tell them because?"

Lance shook his head, "I just can't – trust me. It's best they don't know."

Jasmine hummed and then perked up, "what if...you know, you make something up?" Lance looked at her like she'd grown two heads, "well...they need to know what's up...just, I don't know. Make it up...fake it till you make it!" She explained with a small fist pump and looked at him expectantly.

He smiled, "well, okay then mastermind. What do you suggest?"

"Uh...well..I, um...hm," She had nothing, but she wasn't about to tell his smug looking face that. "What, do I have to think of everything?" She challenged.

He laughed, "it has to have credibility, be believable and has to be big enough that I would come to them for help...nothing really springs to mind does it?"

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "fine then, let's just...borrow them for a while."

Lance's eyebrows shot up, "you mean steal?"

Jasmine looked scandalised, "I would never! I just mean...when everyone else is sleeping...we just go and have a wee look, that's all."

Her innocent and wide-eyed look belied what she was implying and he couldn't help but smirk, "and if we got caught?"

She scoffed, "please – there is no way I would get caught. You on the other hand..."

He let out a laugh, "it's an interesting idea, I'll give you that, but it would be heavily guarded, locks and what not, it would take us half the night to just get in there."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, "has that ever stopped you before?"

He did his best not to grin and leaned forward himself, however he was interrupted by Jasmine's hand raised in the air, "get under the desk," she said quickly and then dropped from her chair.

"What?" He began to angle his body to look at her under the desk and then he heard it, the rumbling. He managed to get under the desk in time before the quake struck, he covered her head as much as he could and held on to the table leg with his other hand, he could hear crashing and banging around him as the old dragon artefacts, books and the shelves all fell around them.

As the quake slowly came to a stop, Lance released his hold on of Jasmine and the table leg, he sat up at a funny angle to stop his head from bumping against the table while Jasmine sat up and brushed her hair out of her eyes, "are you okay?" Lance asked and Jasmine nodded.

"Good, okay – thanks for the warning, by the way. Some good ears you've got there."

She let out a shaky smile, "yeah – one of the first things Dad taught me while caving, always have your ears on."

He smiled back and reached out a hand to run it down her hair, when his palm met her cheek and his fingers lightly stroked the skin there, she could feel her heartbeat calm down. Jasmine let out a shaky breath, "what about you? Are you alright?"

Lance shrugged but he was interrupted by a banging of the doors to their study room, "Master Lance? Master Lance!"

He pulled his hand away from Jasmine and got out from under the table, "I'm here, is everyone else alright?"

His view of who was there was blocked by one of the shelves that had come down, it completely blocked their entrance way giving them no way out.

"We don't know yet sir, we are sending people out around Blackthorn and the Shrine now."

"Good, if anyone else is trapped like we are currently free them first, we are alright and will wait for assistance. However I need to know where the epicenter of that earthquake was."

"Master Lance? The epicenter...?"

"Yes, where did the earthquake begin from? Something that strong it had to either be close or far away and shallow." He turned to look at Jasmine and rolled his eyes, she shook her head at his impatience.

"Sir, according to the first reports, the earthquake was centred at Victory Road."

Jasmine gasped and Lance knew the blood drained out of his face, he swallowed deeply, "how big was it?"

"First report...an 8.7 magnitude, sir."

Lance shut his eyes and tried to calm down, Jasmine had taken one of her hands in his, but she didn't say anything, there was nothing she could say.

"Alright, get us out. Quickly, and ask Sylvia – if she's up to it, to pack Jasmine and mine's things. We will be leaving as soon as we are freed."

"But, Master Lance-"

"NOW!"

There was a yelp on the other side as the man scampered away, thoroughly chastened by Lance's anger. Once he had left, Lance started to move around, restless and irritable.

"Lance, he will be okay. Ash will be fine – you said it yourself, there's no one better. He knows how to handle himself."

She tried, Lance would give her that. But he could hear the worry in her voice, the doubt. He thanked her, but it came out on a croaky whisper.

"Thank you, I'm sorry – I know I said we would go on to Olivine and I know you want to see your home, but I-"

Jasmine placed a hand on his forearm and interrupted him, "It's okay Lance, I don't mind. It's the right thing to do, you are right – we must go back to the Plateau. I wouldn't be surprised if others followed your lead."

Lance drew her into his arms for a strong hug and she let out a gasp, "I need to know that he's okay," he whispered, "he's my brother – I can't just leave him in there, any of them – Brock, Tracey...god Clair! My cousin is in there!"

Jasmine drew back and clasped his face strongly, "they will be alright, all of them. You trusted in Ash enough to pick a team and go in there, he will get them out. You know this, you believe in him."

Lance took a minute but then nodded and met her eyes, his hands were still around her waist and her hands were holding his face. She knew he noticed that her eyes dropped to his lips, he did the same and the hands holding her waist tightened, he didn't move but seemed to wait for her next action.

She stuttered slightly and removed her hands while taking a step back from him. She regained herself and put on a cheery smile while removing a Pokéball from her belt. "Well, first's things first, let's get out of here!"

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So 'Red' being Ash's father...I'm pretty sure I've just ruined this fic for a lot of people and wouldn't be surprised if some of you stop reading. I understand – I've twisted canon quite a bit for this fic – and even more so in this chapter alone. Depending on the reaction I get...I have a few outcomes planned for Red, but like I said earlier – you guys are the one's reading; you are the important ones, so you need to have some sort of a voice in what happens. Let me know what you think, or if there is anything else you may want to see? If it doesn't impede too much on where this story is going, I'm pretty accommodating – I already have a May cameo in the works!
> 
> Poor Bayleef... that was really hard to write because on the one hand, she needed to have a fitting send-off, but in that situation, what can you do? Things need to happen, safety is paramount and staying in that situation certainly wasn't. Just so you know, she will not be the last death either...it's all been pretty smooth sailing up until now, she's the first of a lot more. If it's not something some of you can handle...I suggest that you should probably stop reading...just so you know...only about...four characters (Pokémon included) you've seen are currently safe.
> 
> No Misty in this chapter, sorry about that! I know many of you are eager to see her take a wider, more prominent role in this fic. She will be, she has a very important journey to go though and has a lot to do in this second half of the fic coming up. I've been waiting for so long! I'm very excited. =)
> 
> I've been pretty terrible with updating, so this is a thank you to all those who've stuck in for this long and to those that have favorited, alerted and reviewed. I wanted to get this chapter out quicker than usual to say thanks. I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. =)
> 
> P.S: Anyone notice anything strange in this chapter?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brock has questions, A new face is added into the mix and Lance confronts his history.

"Is it safe to have a fire going for this long?" Brock asked from his perch against the wall, he didn't mean to sound ungrateful, considering the group had moved their fire pit to accommodate him. The heat from the fire was a welcome relief after the events of today.

Everyone was relatively subdued, after Ash and Tracey had got back from collecting what 'wood' they could find, the pit had been moved closer to Brock and the fire started. Food hadn't been too long after that, now the group was all sitting close to the fire and soaking in the warmth.

Ash was silent and had been so since he had spoken to Red back where Bayleef was buried. Brock couldn't read him and it was worrying, Tracey and Clair had tried the start a conversation but he still said nothing, he hadn't looked at anyone. He had only taken a sleeping Pikachu from Clair on his return, sat next to Brock and then had patted his sleeping Pokémon.

"Yeah, the Defiled One's don't like light as we've found, or as Red found." Tracey said with a grin "the more light around the better, it's why we always go looking for wood as much as we can. They will probably be curious and know where we are – but they won't come close. They never have."

Brock nodded, "you guys call them the Defiled ones?" He asked, "why?"

Clair nodded sleepily to Red, "because that's what he calls them, it sort of catches on," she ended with a yawn. "I'm going to sleep, wake me up when it's my turn."

Brock turned to Red who was gazing into the fire, he hadn't said much either. Brock resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the glaring similarities between the two Ketchum's. "So, why are they called 'The Defiled Ones?"

Red took a moment before answering, "because that's what they are. Defiled."

Brock raised a brow, "how much do you know about them?"

Again Red took his time in answering, "not much – they don't like light...or maybe it's heat. Or both. They're bigger than the average Pokémon and have different colouring...and they'll eat almost anything they can get their hands on. – anything living that is. Or was living... at one point..."

Brock took all that in carefully and looked to Tracey who seemed to be settling into his sleeping bag for the night. Brock wondered how much Tracey had revealed to Red and how much he may not have been telling them.

He decided to take a punt, things couldn't be any worse and they needed all the help and information they could get. Besides, if this 'Red' was eligible to be in Victory Road, then no doubt he would have received a summons, or should have...

"Did you receive a summons?" Brock asked abruptly trying to connect the dots as to why this lone trainer was inside Victory Road.

Red took a sip of his drink, "for whatever made the four of you come in here? No – I was already here and have been since this all started."

"Brock furrowed his brow, "why didn't you leave then – when all this started happening – why didn't you warn anyone? Surely you would have seen this happening?"

"I did." He replied simply.

Brock's eyes widened as things started to make sense, "you were the one that pulled that body out of Victory Road?"

Red nodded, "I had Alakazam teleport the first one to the gates, the second one I just left outside Tohjo Falls, I was being hunted."

"Hunted?" Brock asked, while a feeling of dread pooled in his stomach.

Red didn't say anything; instead he just stood up and went outside of the cave, when he didn't come back after a few minutes Brock let out a sigh and turned to look at Ash.

He was still awake and seemed to be staring into space, absentmindedly petting a sleeping Pikachu on his lap. Brock righted his posture as he seemed to have slumped over to alleviate the pain on his ribs while he had been interrogating Red.

"Ash?"

Brock's whisper of his friends name didn't elicit any response, Brock did his best to shuffle over to get closer, "Ash – I know this is hard for you – actually I don't know because losing a Pokémon...at all let alone like that, I don't know how that feels and I know this is selfish, I hope I never have to."

Brock gently laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, "but you can't disappear on me, you can't – I can't do this alone. You're the leader for a reason Ash, I need you here. We work better as a team – or at least I do, you would probably be alright by yourself-"

"Tonight," came the creaky voice, quiet and achingly full of pain. Ash interrupted Brock with just one word.

Brock was silent for a moment, before nodding and withdrawing his presence from Ash, he asked for tonight, one night to process and to grieve. He deserved that at least. Brock could tell from his voice alone how devastated he was, there had only been one other time he had sounded like that, Brock had hoped to never have to hear it again.

Ash had a habit of hiding his face in times like these; he had his cap down low, eyes averted and only a solemn mouth on display. Brock didn't know if could have handled hearing Ash's voice and seeing his face at the same time.

Red came back in quietly, breaking Brock's thoughts, he was carrying more wood and put it down near the fire as quietly as he could, he busied himself with keep the fire stoked, "you two should get some sleep, get those ribs healed quicker. It's been a long day." He added taking a quick look at Ash.

The concern from the older man threw Brock for a minute and he made a mental note, as his eyes fought against the exhaustion he was feeling, to call him out on it when he next got the chance.

* * *

 

Agatha didn't know when she found herself entrenching herself so deeply on Cynthia's side of the matter without know all the details, but she found herself there nonetheless.

The man was the epitome of irritating.

The three of them were sitting in one of the meeting rooms on the first floor; Cynthia was standing a ways away, near the door. Her arms were crossed and her back stiff and straight. She hadn't said much, but everything was rolling off her in waves – she couldn't hide her feelings if she tried.

Cyrus looked annoyingly comfortable in his surroundings, he had removed his hoodie and gloves, sat down in what was usually Lance's chair, crossed his chair and leaned back, all with an elegance that belied who he was. He had glanced around the room with an air of nonchalant amusement and aloofness, like where he wasn't sitting wasn't somewhere to be revered.

Many of the world's greatest trainers had been in this room; some of the most important decisions of the League's History were made here.

Agatha disliked him on principle alone. She herself was sitting down; her chair happened to be situated between the Cyrus and Cynthia, a choice she made deliberately despite how far away the two were from each other. She didn't like the knowing looks Cyrus sent Cynthia – although they were telling.

Agatha didn't know whether he was doing it on purpose or didn't realise he was doing it – a maddening prospect. She detested not being able to read people.

The three were currently waiting for other members of the Elite Four from Kanto; they had sent messages to the Professors asking if one could also join the meeting – at the request of Cyrus himself.

He hadn't had a preference, just one of the Professors would do, he had said lightly.

The Elite Four from the other regions had been notified of his arrival and were told to stay where they were in case this was an elaborate trap; many of them were also working on contacting those involved in the Summit to get back to the Indigo Plateau as soon as possible.

The first stats of the earthquake came back worse than expected; it had been felt as far away as Cianwood and Lavender Town. Agatha had been relieved when she had heard from Lance, saying that he was alright and was currently trying to dig himself out of a home in Blackthorn. He had said to continue without him and that he would be updated when he got back – they didn't have any time to lose, nor did they have time to deal with whatever Cyrus may been cooking up.

Bruno and Lorelei were on their way, but Agatha was losing patience. She had decided to get the ball rolling when there was a knock on the door.

Agatha wasn't surprised to see Professor Oak behind the mahogany doors, although she was surprised to see how  _old_ he looked. Storing it away for future use, Agatha gestured to Cynthia and Oak to take a seat.

Once they had, Agatha addressed Cyrus directly. "Now, what is it that you have to tell us – and before you speak, let me warn you, I am not in the mood for games, for tricks or for any more of your nihilistic beliefs. If you are here to help us then I will listen, if not – take yourself back whence you came. I will not tolerate you any longer than I have to."

Cynthia looked at her shocked, Professor Oak let out a sigh and looked resigned and Cyrus even looked a little impressed at her biting tone.

"First off, let me thank-"

"No, no thanking, no sucking up or pleasant behaviour." Agatha interrupted him again and stared at him beadily, "I know what you have done, I know what you are capable of. All I want is facts, all I want is information and knowledge, I don't want any more allies or any more people willing to sacrifice themselves. What I want is a resolution – can you give that to me?"

"Agatha..." Oak chided gently and she raised a hand without looking at him, negating anything else that would have came from him.

Cyrus took a moment and it was there that Agatha could see the change, the man that was once pleasant and polite was no longer, his eyes no longer smiled – instead they became cold and ruthless.

"Very well – I cannot give you a resolution, but more questions and few answers, I can do that." He bent down to his feet and opened the bag that lay there; he pulled out a heavy book and threw it across the table, it landed right in front of Cynthia. She glared at him and he glared back before leaning back again.

She opened the book and looked through it, "it's a book about the history of Sunyshore City," she said confused and turned the book towards Agatha and Oak.

"Turn to page 278," Cyrus said, his civil tone now replaced with disdain.

Cynthia did so, not without a dark look in his direction, on it was a picture, black and white – showing a family, the mother and father all sitting down with three sons and a daughter surrounding them. It was a photo that sparked her memory. She looked at the caption of the picture, "The Family Akagi, 1889."

Cynthia furrowed her brow..."Akagi..." she whispered to herself, "i've heard that before."

"Yes, you have." Professor Oak spoke, "we all have – it was the name of the excavation team that found the slab in Mt Coronet," he spoke meaningfully and Agatha and Cynthia got his silent message – to speak not of what was currently going on in Victory Road.

"What I fail to see," Professor Oak continued, "is why this photo has any relevance to us or to you."

Cyrus said nothing at first, he leaned forward and put both elbows on the table, crossing his hands and leaning his chin against them. "It is relevant because those people in the picture are my family. – The young man, two from the left – he is my Great, Great Grandfather – Leader of Team Akagi and the finder of...this."

As he pulled out the slab, Agatha could feel her eyes shut and the two on either side of her stand up, Cynthia in her anger and Professor Oak in his excitement.

"Where did you get that?" Cynthia asked angrily while Professor Oak went around to Cyrus' side of the table to get a better look at the slab.

"I stole it," he said casually, turning the slab so that Professor Oak could look at it better.

Cynthia made a few incoherent noises and turned away with her hands in the air.

"Where did you...steal this artefact from, if I may ask?" Agatha asked snidely.

"My Grandfather's garage."

Agatha and Oak stared at him while Cynthia bristled. Cyrus shrugged casually, "he didn't seem to be doing anything with it and after a little bit of researching I found out exactly what it was. Obviously Sunyshore no longer wanted it as it was just wasting away in my Grandfathers garage, I figured why not take it and...go on an adventure."

He spoke the last part bitterly and clenched his jaw.

While Cynthia muttered to herself and Professor Oak studied the slab voraciously, Agatha looked at Cyrus, the man was currently glaring at nothing, no doubt thinking of things unsavoury.

Agatha suddenly let out a chuckle, surprising everyone in the room, "very good, very good...so the very slab we were looking for just falls into our lap like that," she snapped her fingers sharply, "just like that – you give us this slab... I don't think so." She stared him down, "there is more to this story...much more."

Cyrus met her gaze and she was slightly surprised to see fear and remorse delving through them, she did not waver, however.

"What happened on this... _adventure_?"

There was silence for a good minute, Cynthia turned back to look at him and even Professor Oak was able to draw his eyes away from the slab.

Cyrus darted his eyes back and forth, finally settling on the slab, "we went were we shouldn't...we thought – it would be okay."

"We didn't mean any harm..."

"We regret..."

"We die..."

"we should not have entered..."

Cyrus carried on in this fashion, broken sentences, wild eyes and apologetic muttering sentences.

Agatha looked at Professor Oak who was looking between Cyrus and the slab, she then turned to Cynthia who was looked shocked and confused at the strange turn Cyrus seemed to have taken. She looked to Agatha and shrugged her shoulders.

Agatha, not knowing what else to do, jerked her head towards Cyrus and Cynthia shook her head firmly, mouthing "no!"

Agatha jabbed at her with her walking stick, making Cynthia move closer to Cyrus to dodge out of the way; Cynthia glared at her and through this silent exchange Professor Oak watched as Cyrus became worse.

He started shaking, eyes fixed on no one and nothing, glazing over.

"No one can save us..."

"Perish...all shall perish..."

"He will pay..."

"His wrath cannot be stopped..."

Slightly worried now by the darkness that had taken over some of Cyrus' words, Cynthia moved forward, she hesitated before slowing placing a hand on Cyrus' shoulder.

The reaction was instantaneous; Cyrus who had seemed to be on the verge of total collapse, acted like all his energy had been sapped at Cynthia's touch.

Really worried now, Cynthia kneeled down keeping her hand touching his arm as she lowered herself, his eyes followed her movement and for a moment, she was reminded of the little boy, her friend, the young man who used to follow her around. The young man she had fallen in love with.

"Cyrus?" Cynthia questioned quietly, "are you...okay?" She asked helplessly, looking at both Professor Oak and Agatha for help.

"We went where we shouldn't have..."

Cynthia swallowed and at the urging of Agatha and Oak, started to ask him questions.

"Where did you go?"

"Darkness...so dark...all dark"

"What is dark? What were you looking for?"

"We found it...found..."

"What did you find!"

"Darkness..."

Cynthia shut her eyes in frustration, "we're going round in circles." Agatha had managed to shift her way over, but even she had no answers as they watched the man shiver and convulse in his chair.

Professor Oak joined Cynthia and touched Cyrus on his shoulder who acknowledged by turning his head briefly, "Cyrus, can you hear me?"

Cyrus uttered some more nonsense and made a head movement that looked almost like a nod. Professor Oak smiled encouragingly, "that's good, now – you said you went somewhere 'dark.' Do you remember where?"

"Fffff...ound...it..."

"Found it...found it..." Professor Oak muttered.

"What did you find?" Cynthia urged, her arm tightening on Cyrus' arm.

"Darkness...all dark."

Cynthia looked up helplessly; Professor Oak took charge again and leant down, "where did you go Cyrus?" He asked firmly.

"Ffffound...Fffffound...it..."

It was the little head jerk that gave it away, as he stuttered and drew out the words Cyrus managed to jerk his head to the left of him, Professor Oak followed that movement to where the tablet lay and his eyes widened.

"Found it...where you found it. Where you found the tablet...Mount Coronet! You were in Mount Coronet?"

Cyrus gave one last jerk and then nothing, his eyes were shut and his body was still. The group panicked for a moment and Cynthia immediately checked for a pulse, "he's breathing...there's a pulse." Cynthia let out joyfully and Agatha let out a sigh of relief.

Professor Oak nodded and stood up, "Mount Coronet –it makes sense, of course you would go back to where you found the source...dark, very dark – he must have gone deep in there and found...something, someone?"

He paced slowly, speaking to the two women in the room, trying to piece things together, "he believes that what is happening here is a result of what happened with him in Mount Coronet...not a bad assumption considering the runes are the same on the Pokémon here as they are on that tablet, but what...what is it that he found?"

The question had no answer, all three of them couldn't answer that question, nor did they find that they particularly wanted to.

"Get him a room," Agatha ordered Cynthia, "he has information...perhaps vital information that we may need. He also needs to be monitored – set up shifts."

While Cynthia was busying herself looking after Cyrus, Agatha turned to Professor Oak "well...that was...I don't know."

He let out a rueful chuckle, "well – we are one step closer I suppose," he picked up the slab still lying on the table, "we have this. "

"With no idea how to begin to translate it," Agatha added.

"Baby steps, Agatha, baby steps."

Agatha let out a grim smile, "baby steps we may be going in, but we need to start taking leaps. You noticed didn't you?"

Professor Oak looked at her warily, "noticed what?"

Agatha let out a heavy sigh, "he never told us how he knew any of this was going on in the first place. The Summit is meant to be a secret and yet he's here – here with information pertaining exactly to what we need. That's too much to be a coincidence."

"You think someone is releasing information to the public?" Professor Oak asked and Agatha nodded slowly, "it wouldn't surprise me- you haven't noticed anything have you?"

Oak shook his head, "nothing – although Pallet Town tends to get everything later than everything else." He added wryly, "I'll ask the other Professors to keep an eye out until they get back." He hefted the slab in his arms, "do you mind if I take this?"

Agatha shook her head, "just make sure you take photos – I want to send some copies out to some of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four Members."

Professor Oak nodded and there was a pause before he placed a hand on Agatha's shoulder and squeezed gently, "everything will be alright Agatha."

She could tell that even he didn't quite believe what he was saying, she smiled ruefully, "will it now? We have Pokémon currently turning mad with no way to cure them, we have no information of how any of this all began or how to stop it. People are whispering and releasing top secret information, we have Lance out of commission – trapped somewhere in Blackthorn, Ash Ketchum –whom we all placed our faith in is currently in arguably the most dangerous place he could be and following an earthquake that could have triggered anything to kill him, we haven't heard from him in almost two weeks."

She turned to look at Professor Oak, "tell me Samuel, what do we do when all this comes to a head? What happens when the public demands answers? What happens if Ash fails?"

There was silence, it was the first time Oak had seen Agatha like this – her voice was the same as always, but in her own way he supposed she was slightly hysterical and no doubt exhausted.

"I suppose we just carry on Agatha, we keep going. It's all we can do. But then again, I believe in Ash, I always believe in Ash. I know he will come back, he always does." Oak smiled at her and headed towards the doors.

"I wonder at you and Lance, this faith you have in Ash Ketchum? What makes you believe so wholeheartedly in that young man?"

Professor Oak rested one hand on the door handle and didn't turn around, "it's because in his own way he's nothing special, just a young man from a simple family born and raised in a small, sleepy town."

He turned around and smiled at Agatha who looked bewildered, "he's a young man with nothing remarkable about him, but yet he inspires the remarkable from all those who meet him. He has an affinity with Pokémon unlike anyone else I've ever seen. He just _is_ Agatha." Professor Oak shrugged and let out a chuckle, as though surprised by what he was saying. "Throughout the most darkest and helpless moments he's endured...I  _choose_ to believe in him. That's the difference – I make the choice for no particular reason other than I simply believe in him."

Unable to explain himself any better, Oak smiled and headed out the door, leaving Agatha to ponder his words.

* * *

 

"What do you mean we're not going be out of here for a few days?" Lance shouted indignantly making the young man on the other side stutter and jump back from the blocked entrance.

Lance turned around and winked at Jasmine who rolled her eyes but couldn't help her smile. She had released her Aggron and Metagross, both of which were now tunnelling their way out the other side to create an exit for the two of them.

Deciding to take matters in their own hands seemed to be a good idea in light of things; they would be out of the caved in Shrine shortly. It seemed they had been lucky; most of the Shrine had collapsed in on itself and they were currently in a pocket that could fall any moment. It was why Jasmine had decided against releasing Steelix, sure he would tunnel faster, but he was also bigger than the small space they were in and could possible cause a collapse, potentially hurting either one of them.

Workers in Blackthorn were struggling with the volume of people stuck and many people from other cities had been called in to help out some of the places that had been hit the hardest. Unfortunately Goldenrod had been hit hard and considering it was one of the biggest cities in Johto, many workers and excavators had flocked there to help out due to the sheer volume or work in Goldenrod.

After a few more terse words from Lance telling the worker to hurry up and get everyone else out, the worker hurried away and Lance let out a frustrated sigh, "its worse than we thought – apparently Goldenrod has a lot of debris as does Ecruteak. Haven't heard much from Kanto – but Olivine is fine, just a few landslides down by the beach and no one was hurt."

Jasmine smiled at him, "thank you for asking – I appreciate it. Aggron and Metagross are almost finished. We should be out shortly."

Lance smiled and nodded, "I didn't know you had these two Pokémon, they're not registered for the Gym are they?" He gestured to the two Pokémon burrowing away.

Jasmine hummed, "no they're not...which you would know...if you ever decided to come see me at my Gym." She saw that he went still at her words; she hesitated briefly before she ploughed on, "why is that? I mean...it's not a big, well actually it is a big deal, you see everyone else but me? Did I do something? Have I said something? I just-"

There was a large crash from within the tunnel and a cry of surprise, Lance immediately started down the tunnel the Pokémon created and Jasmine soon followed, sighing at the untimely interruption.

Her Pokémon had managed to break through and find a way out, to some of the civilians shock. Lance crawled out of the hole and smiled into the sunlight, Jasmine was behind him, thanking her Pokémon for their efforts and returning them to their Poke ball's

"Right, we ready to go? Sylvia should have our stuff packed and we should head back to the Plateau as soon as possible."

Jasmine nodded briefly and started off behind him, she was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realised that Lance had stopped and she crashed into his back.

"Ow, Lance – what?" She looked around his broad back and gasped lightly. In front of Lance's home stood who she assumed was the Elder of Blackthorn. A solemn, regal looking older man – he seemed to be waiting for Lance to approach him.

Lance whirled around and grabbed hold of her forearm, any tighter and it would have hurt. "Jasmine, take the third Pokéball from my belt. I want you to grab our gear and head to the Plateau with Dragonite – I'll be right behind you."

Jasmine met his eyes, his jaw was clenched and he was imploring her to leave. "No you won't be," she said quietly.

Lance took in a quick breath, "please – I promise I will answer your questions when I get back to the Plateau,  _all_ of them." He stressed looking at her knowingly, implying that he didn't just ignore her last question.

Jasmine took another look at the Elder; she wondered what it was about him that had Lance so rattled. He didn't seem to be very imposing, almost as tall as he was wide, his features may have been sharp if he didn't have the weight on him. He didn't seem to acknowledge her staring; he was only patiently waiting for Lance.

Deciding to listen to the Dragon Master, Jasmine unclipped the Poke ball and nodded before walking in the direction of Lance's home.

When she was at a satisfying distance Lance steeled himself and turned back in the direction of the Elder. It wasn't that he was afraid of him, more that this man knew a lot about him and was on par with Agatha when it came to cunning. Cut from the same cloth they were, scarily alike – although unlike Agatha, the Elder always had an ulterior motive in talking to him.

To bring Lance back to Blackthorn.

For good.

Lance didn't bother with the pleasantries, didn't bow and didn't address him politely by his title, "what do you want?" was all he asked.

The Elder smiled, not surprised by the young man's abrupt behaviour, "she's quite pretty isn't she?" He spoke softly, "I had wondered what it was about her that had captured your attention. She's not striking by any means, but there is something about her. I suppose there would have to be, to make The Dragon Master falter."

Lance refused to react, although it was a close thing. He kept his face impassive and tried to keep his body less tense.

"If you have nothing to say to me then I will be on my way, I have more important things to worry about."

"Yes, I don't doubt that you do – what with your Cousin currently in Victory Road, I would imagine you should be very worried about her."

Lance was incensed, but he kept his tone light - "did she tell you that?"

The Elder didn't answer him, "I wonder at the League's methods – not informing the general public about something of this magnitude – I wonder at you not telling your  _Clan_ about the possible danger we may all be facing."

Lance felt his heart grow cold... _he knew, how did he know?_ Out of the corner of his eye he could see Dragonite fly off with Jasmine on her back, relieved that she was out of immediate danger Lance turned his eyes back to the Elder Master who was looking as serene as ever and not that he had dropped a massive bombshell.

Lance smirked, "so is that it? Threaten me with your knowledge – I don't particularly care that you know, although I am interested as to how you found out. As to what the League does or does not do, that is none of your concern and it hasn't been since the Council of Elders decided that the League wasn't worth their time. A mistake that you have been paying for your whole life."

There was a ripple in the Elder's face, a ripple that suggested he wasn't as composed as he claimed to be and it was deeply satisfying to Lance.

"And what would you do if I choose to release this information to the general public – what will your  _precious_  League do then?"

Lance raised his chin defiantly, "we will carry on, we will do as we have been taught to – we will  _endure._ I understand – as you do – that rumours have a way of...destroying things," he looked pointedly at the Elder Master who sneered a little, "but the League will continue on and if you do anything to harm them, understand this-"

Lance walked close and stood right in front of the Elder Master who had to crane his neck up to meet Lance's eyes.

Lance nodded a bit before leaning down so only the Elder Master could hear him as he punctuated every word with a malice that only this man made him possess, "I will destroy you and this Clan and the name 'Blackthorn' will never exist again – it won't even be footnote in history, I will obliterate every aspect of its existence so no one will know that this filthy excuse for a Clan ever existed."

His hatred shocked the Elder Master and he took a step back once Lance had finished speaking and stared at him, he stuttered a bit and met Lance's eyes with a fear that Lance relished.

The Elder Master recovered slightly "I have only ever cared for you Lance, only ever wanted to see you thrive and flourish at home – here in Blackthorn where you belong. We have allowed you your fun, your adventures, now it is time for you to take your rightful place here as my successor." His tone was firm and strong in its belief, "You are The Dragon Master, the youngest in hundreds of years, born to a lineage that few could every dream of. You are special! You are a King amongst people and Pokemon!" He broke off, and slowed himself down to speak imploringly to try and make Lance understand, "I only use the methods I do to get you to come home, I don't know what that witch Agatha has told you, but I am not getting any younger you know and there is no one else-"

"But there was." Lance interrupted softly, "there was someone else."

The Elder Master looked at him with bewilderment and Lance shook his head, "even now you pretend. My Mother? Scylla? Remember her? Of course you do, you were the one who murdered her after all when she disobeyed you for what she didn't know was the last time."

The Elder Master had gone white and taken a few more steps back and his back hit the door of Lance's home, "how – how did you...?"

Lance grinned, "because from the moment nothing else mattered to you– once I had been born you got your male heir, if I had been a girl I wondered if you would have killed me and my Father or just waited until I was older to see if I would have whelped a boy. But no – you got me and suddenly you no longer had use for my Mother or her husband whom you hated – so you got rid of them and tried to raise me yourself. Oh yes, I know it all – and now your plan has backfired and when you need me the most..."

He let his words hang in the air and the Elder Master's face change from scared to angry and then to defiance.

Lance scoffed, "defiant to the bitter end I see, that's fine. I don't care anymore, I'm done with this place – with you and the Clan." He released his Aerodactyl and mounted the Pokémon swiftly getting ready to leave.

"If you leave Lance I will speak up – we all deserve to know what's happening – you can't keep secrets like this."

Lance let out a laugh, "that's a bit hypocritical coming from you – but fine go ahead, speak what you know – but be warned it will be declaring war on the Indigo Plateau and anyone else who decides to stand with us – which I guarantee you is not as small a number as you may think. Go ahead and declare yourself, we will be waiting."

With those final words Aerodactyl pushed off from the ground at a lightning speed and flew off toward the Indigo Plateau.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so firstly sorry about the enormously long wait. It’s been crazy – so much to do at work, so much. I’ve been exhausted; my weekends don’t even give me a break any more. I always have to do something, but I wanted to get this out before another month passed – so here we go. 
> 
> Plus I did need a break for two weeks; I needed to step away and figure out where I was heading and to figure out which direction I wanted to take this story in. 
> 
> More developments and few more answers – Cyrus is now thrown into the mix with a bit of history and information about what’s going on in Victory Road, they have the slab and a crazy guy telling them almost nothing! Baby steps! 
> 
> Lance’s history revealed a bit more as is part of the darkness of the Blackthorn Clan and what they have done to Lance, etc.  
> Ash and co will feature more heavily in the next chapter; he needs time to grieve – as I think we all do. I got a lot of feedback about thoughts to do with Bayleef’s death – thank you all for that; even if you didn’t enjoy it I didn’t get anything that attacked me personally or anything substantially rude, just all your thoughts. 
> 
> As a writer I really appreciate that, especially on sites where people are known to get vicious if things don’t go their way. I know some of you didn’t like it at all and I should warn you now that this story will have more death, people and Pokémon alike, favourites may go, etc. If you want to know who is safe and who currently isn’t– I will spoil you through a PM, but that is your choice. I respect your choice to keep reading or not and thank you for coming this far.
> 
> Currently there are only four people/Pokémon who are safe absolutely. The rest are all on the chopping block potentially.  
> Once again apologies for the wait – the next one should not take as long, I have a long weekend this week so i’ll do my best to churn out a bit more and hopefully getting the next chapter out sooner rather than later. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think and if you have any questions, comments or concerns – please let me know.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Co figure out what their next move it, Lance comes back to the Indigo Plateau and Cyrus and Cynthia have a chat

When Brock awoke the next morning he was surprised to find himself alone, well almost alone – Pikachu was currently nestled in his sleeping bag with him. Brock gave him a pat with one hand and used the other to rub his own bleary eyes awake.

The fire was long put out and there was a fresh chill in the air, everything had been rolled away and Brock noticed that Red and Clair's packs were missing, but Tracey and Ash's were rested against the cave wall.

Brock began to yawn but found himself wincing and stopping as a sharp pain nudged at his ribs – he had forgotten about his ribs, he tenderly pressed his fingers against the bindings and hissed at the pain. He had either done more damage than he thought, or they were healing quicker.

He unzipped the rest of his sleeping bag making Pikachu shiver briefly and burrow further down to where his feet were to get away from the cold air. Brock smiled, "sorry buddy, time to get moving."

"That it is, you've almost slept the morning away." Brock angled his head and found Tracey smiling down at him carrying more wood. "How are you feeling?" Tracey asked as he walked further into the cave to deposit his bundle.

"I'm alright, but I haven't tried to sit up yet." Brock answered, "where is everyone?"

"Clair and Red have gone scouting for information, seeing what more they can find in the Chasm and Ash -"

"Is right behind you."

Tracey turned around and moved out of the way so that Brock could see Ash – or more like his legs and hands. Brock let out a laugh at Ash's unhappy tone of voice when he saw the reason for it.

Ash was currently carrying a large amount of wood, so large that he couldn't see over the pile, it even hid his hat from view. "You're supposed to be directing me – I almost walked into the lake!" Ash said as he stumbled forward, looking for a place to drop his bundle.

"Sorry Ash – but I thought I heard Brock's voice, I was right!" Tracey grinned at Brock who returned it amiably while Ash grumbled to himself.

"Yeah, yeah that's great - hey Brock. Do either of you mind telling me where to drop this? It's not getting any lighter you know?"

Through his laughter, Brock managed to direct him to the pile where finally Ash was able to drop the pile, once he had done so he let out a sigh and rubbed off the dust and debris left behind. He turned around and sent a smile towards his two friends, "so Brock, how are you doing?" He came over and crouched down next to his friend, Brock smiled and nodded, "I'm doing alright – haven't sat up yet, should probably try soon."

"Well you are going to have to at one point, I'll have to have a look at your bandages and check on the damage from yesterday, but first – I'll get you some breakfast!"

"Thanks Tracey," Brock said as Tracey moved towards the food in the back of the cave and set about making something. While he set about making a few noises and distracting himself, Brock took the opportunity to speak to Ash.

"I know I'm the one with the bruised ribs, but how are you doing?" He asked in a hushed tone.

Ash let out a low sigh and sat down to relieve his knees, "I'm not okay." Ash admitted, "but I can't change the past, it happened...Bayleef is gone. " He choked out the last few words, "I can't change that. I can only keep going and not let her death be in vain...you know, all that kind of crap people say when they pretend they have to keep going rather than wanting to just disappear until the pain goes away."

Brock paused for a moment, "the pain will probably never go away Ash..." he looked up again to see Ash smiling down at him sadly.

They didn't say any more as they worked on getting Brock into a sitting position. He tried to move himself but found the ache too much for him, it ended with mostly Ash pulling him into a sitting position and Brock directing him so it didn't hurt as much.

Brock was sweating by the end of it, even though he hadn't done much it showed how much effort it took to do something so simple. As Ash settled in beside him Brock breathed in and out heavily, "Ash – this is going to be a problem." He gestured to his ribs, "something's wrong – it's worse than we thought."

"Alright, let's have a look then." Brock accommodated as much as he could while Ash slowly removed the bindings around his ribs, as they slipped away Brock noticed that Ash's face became whiter and it made him not want to look down.

"Ash?" Brock queried nervously as Tracey came over with a tray.

"Alright – here is your...oh -" Tracey's eyes bugged out of his head as he looked at Brock's torso , "Brock," he whispered while he laid the food down, as though speaking any louder would cause him more harm. "How are you even still awake?" Tracey asked making Brock laugh while wincing and Ash smiling despite what they were seeing.

"Oh Tracey – don't make me laugh," Brock asked while lifting a hand to his torso and then stopping when feeling something extremely tender and not where it should be. "That's my rib isn't it?" He asked, not willing to look down to see it.

Ash grimaced, "yeah – it is. I think you've got another one there too, but I'm not about to move you to check. Jeez Brock...you've got to be in so much pain – why didn't you say anything?"

"Up until now I couldn't really feel anything – I mean could you blame me? After everything that happened, I think we were all running on adrenaline."

Ash nodded, it couldn't really be denied. They had been through hell in the last 48 hours and for the moment they were in as safe a place as they could be, but it still did nothing for Bock – he needed his ribs to heal, he needed medical attention as soon as they could get it.

"Brock – we have to get you out of here." Ash said at length, "it wasn't safe for any of us to begin with and now-"

Brock held up a hand briefly, "it's okay Ash, I get that I'm a liability at this point and to be honest the thought of a mattress right now is infinitely better than staying here with the rest of you."

Ash grinned, "well you still have your sense of humour – you can't be that bad."

"Who's joking?" Brock asked as Ash stood up and Tracey held up the bowl filled with food.

"Think you can manage?" Tracey asked setting down the plate and Brock nodded gently. It was difficult, but he did manage, wincing every now and again as a twinge of pain jolted across his chest and torso.

Tracey was satisfied after Brock had finished his plate and had checked and redone the bandages, "the next question is," Tracey spoke as he pinned the white bandage in place, "can you walk – and if so...for how long and how far?"

Brock dropped his fork into the bowl gracelessly, "I suppose there's only one way to find out – but the two of you may have to help me out."

Ash moved the food plates away from Brock while Tracey moved to Brock's left side and bent down, he wrapped Brock's arm around his shoulder, gripped one hand under Brock's armpit and then wrapped the other arm around Brock's waist.

Ash quickly moved to the other side and adjusted his limbs in a similar fashion, "right," he said when he was set-up, "you ready?" He asked looking at both Tracey and Brock.

Tracey grinned and Brock – already gritting his teeth in pain nodded jerkily, "alright – up you come." Ash and Tracey rose slowly while Brock let out a yell of pain as they lifted him onto his feet and his body straightened out accordingly.

Brock's hands clutched onto the shoulders of both Ash and Tracey as his grit his teeth to get through the pain, he panted and bit his lip while the searing pain in his ribs dulled to an achy twinge.

"You alright?" Ash asked, still holding onto his friend. Brock nodded and told them they could start letting him go as he eased up his grip on his friends shoulders.

"Alright, we're going to take this slowly," Ash nodded to Tracey and slowly the two started to let go of Brock and let him stand on his own.

"Easy does it," Tracey murmured as both Ash and Tracey finally fully let go of Brock who in turn let go of his friends.

He balanced precariously for a few seconds, bearing all the weight of his battered body onto his lower half before he took one step. A burst of pain started in his right side and echoed all the way down to his ankle, he grunted and then took another step and then another. He ended up walking to the other side of the cave and once there he leaned heavily on the rocky wall. Once he had got his breath back he turned to look at Tracey and Ash with a small smile, "I can walk!"

Tracey smiled back, but Brock could see the concern in his eyes and Ash didn't bother hiding behind a smile, "you need to get out of here," was all he said before he marched over to his pack. He rummaged around for a little bit before he found what he was looking for. It was the device that Lance had given them before the group had entered into Victory Road, "Ash – we're not in that dire of straits." Brock spoke up while Tracey lent his shoulder again for Brock to lean on, Ash shook his head, "you didn't just watch yourself take ten minutes to hobble about two metres, you're not well Brock and considering what's out there – we need help."

"Considering what's out there," Brock argued, "we shouldn't be bringing people IN here." Ash didn't listen and pressed the button, there was a silence as the three men almost expected something to happen. There was no noise, the button didn't flash or beep or anything, Ash wrinkled his nose "how are we supposed to know if this has worked or not?" He asked out loud.

Brock opened his mouth but was cut off by a shout from outside the cave, the three looked up and Ash – after sparing a glance at the others moved towards the entrance, once he got there he looked out and listened hard, he could hear echoing and the roar of a Pokémon that was too close to comfort, "Tracy – get our stuff, Brock – come over here."

"Ash what's going on?

"Ash-"

"Just get our stuff Tracey! Pikachu!"

Hurrying to obey the urgent demand, Brock hobbled his way over to the entrance where Ash had an arm out waiting for him to hold onto; while Pikachu clambered up to his other shoulder. Tracey flittered in the background picking up everything he could carry.

"Ash – what's wron -?" Brock was cut off as he was seeing what Ash was, Red – bleeding heavily from a cut at his forehead, running as fast as he could while carrying a passed out Clair in his arms.

There was a dark shadow of a Pokémon loomed over them – from the looks of it, it was a large Onix, red eyes gleaming as it followed its prey. The overgrown Pokémon didn't move, but it watched and waited. Ash moved Brock and himself aside as Red stumbled through the cave and all but collapsed in the entryway.

Brock moved to check on Red and Tracey skidded over carrying the bags and medical supplies to tend to the two injured of their party, while Red explained while trying to control his breathing what had happened.

Ash listened from the cave entrance as Red told their tale – how they had been careful, how they had walked around a corner and had found themselves at a dead end – a dead end with a pile of burnt flesh and bones – stinking to the high heavens. They had turned to leave, only to find themselves cornered by the Golem they had all seen earlier on.

The Golem had slammed its hands into the earth causing a jolt where they two had been standing; Clair hadn't been able to control her movement and had ended up knocking her head hard and passing out. Red had managed to get his Blastoise to distract the Golem long enough for him to get Clair and make a run for it.

The run hadn't been long, the Golem had been right behind them the entire way despite his Blastoise being a type advantage and sending powerful Hydro Pumps its way.

In the end the two had come to another dead end, Red had returned Blastoise to his Pokéball and released Alakazam, who in its hurry to escape a charging oversized Golem had teleported Red and Clair to another part of the cave where they had stumbled down a crumbly rock face (how Red got the now cleaned up cut on his forehead) and straight into the lair of a sleeping Onix.

Ash was watching said Onix now, the Onix had slowly creeped after them the entire way and now it wasn't moving on, it's red eyes were sinister and gleaming, the same red colour spread throughout its coal black body, thin rivers that linked up – like veins almost.

"It's probably going to need stitches," Tracey said as he placed a bandage over the wound on Red's forehead while Brock shined the light.

"We don't have time," Red grunted out and took a sip of water, "check on Clair – Brock how are your ribs?"

"Not good enough to get out of here with the Onix still hanging around," Ash spoke up.

Red turned around sharply in surprise, "it's still there?" He asked in shock.

Ash nodded, refusing to take his eyes off the Pokémon, "yeah – it seems to be waiting for something. We need to figure out what we're going to do."

"We need to get Clair out of here, she hit her head pretty hard and her breathing is quite shallow," Tracey spoke up as he wrapped a blanket around the young woman. "Red needs stitches and Brock's ribs need looking at – I'd say that those three take priority and they can teleport out. Ash and I can stay as a distraction; we'll head straight for the entrance and meet you guys back at The Indigo Plateau."

Brock nodded and Ash threw up a thumbs up over his shoulder to show that he agreed. Tracey smiled and moved to get Clair ready, "alright – Brock can you carry anything? Red is going to have to carry Clair and if you can take some of the samples-"

"Hold up just a minute," Red interrupted Tracey, "don't you guys have a mission? I would say you four need to get out more than I do."

"And we will," Tracey said cheerfully as he gently placed a bag on Brock's back who hissed slightly. "Sorry Brock," Tracey apologised and began filling up Brock bag with a few of the samples they had collected, "let me know when this gets too heavy. We will get out of here; we just need to be smart about this. Currently Ash and I are the most able-bodied, it makes sense for the two of us to lead the Onix away and hide out and then make our way back to the entrance."

"Yeah – but do the two of you even know where you're going?" Red asked, "I've been here longer – I know this place like the back of my hand. I should be the one staying and you four should get out and head back to the Indigo Plateau."

Brock narrowed his eyes, "how long _have_ you been in here?" He asked Red who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Answer his question," Ash spoke up, Red looked at him over his shoulder and Ash didn't bother to move, still watching the Onix without flinching.

Red let out a sigh, "what's the date? Or approximate thereabouts?"

Brock scrunched up his face as he thought about it, "we came in around April fourth..."

Red shook his head, "no I mean what year is it?"

Brock and Tracey just stared at him for a few seconds before Brock turned to look at Ash who was steadfastly refusing to move. Brock spoke the year and Red took a minute before answering, "I've been in here about three years give or take a few months."

There was silence as the group took this in, Brock avoided looking at Ash who seemed to be ignoring the conversation entirely, although he could tell by the stiffness of his friend's shoulders that finding out his Father had been in a cave for three years rather than being with his family wasn't a pleasing idea.

"Right," Tracey said at length, "well be that as it may you're bleeding heavily from your forehead, Brock can hardly walk and Clair is out for the count – you need to get that looked at and these two need medical attention and soon and not to make things any more awkward but I would prefer to be left in here with Ash if I had a choice and I'm pretty sure he would pick me over you too."

There was a flash of hurt on Red's face and for a moment Brock wanted to feel sympathy for him but found himself unable to, "look you've been in here for a while – I think I'm correct in assuming that every once and a while you would go and collect food and freshen up your Pokémon a bit at one of the entrances?"

Red shoot a look at Ash quickly and then nodded at Brock's assumption.

"That's enough Tracey," Brock hefted the bag a little while Tracey zipped it up, "alright well – I'm guessing since this all started about three months ago I'd say you're Pokémon would be running nearly on empty. If you don't want to go back fine, but I for one would be thinking of your Pokémon, they can't go on forever and by the sounds of it your Blastoise and Alakazam may be feeling the pressure a bit."

"Do not tell me how to take care of my Pokémon boy," Red thundered at Brock, I've got years on you and I -"

"Time has no meaning here, this is Pokémon care 101. I don't care how many potions or Elixirs you have, or how strong you think your Pokémon are – right now they are probably on their last legs and just when you need them the most they won't be there and they you will watch them being devoured before your eyes unless you go first."

"Pokémon care 101 is going to have to wait," Ash interrupted as Red opened his mouth to say something, "the Onix is heading this way," Ash ducked back inside the cave "you have to leave, now – teleport, flying, anything!"

"Alakazam!"

With the Pokémon released and Brock, Red and a still passed out Clair huddled around him there came a loud roar from behind, followed by three others.

The blood drained from Ash's face as he realised why Onix hadn't moved, he had been waiting – waiting for back-up from the other Pokémon like him.

"Ash, Tracey c'mon!" Brock waved them over to Alakazam who was getting ready to Teleport, Tracey made his way over but Ash hesitated.

"ASH!" Brock yelled desperately, ignoring the pain in his ribs, looking at his friend like he was mad.

"He's too tired – look at him, he'll never make it with all of us!"

Brock took a look at the Pokémon while Red and Tracey held Clair between the two of them, Alakazam was breathing heavily, like he had fought one big battle – he would only probably have maybe one big teleport in him left and only Red knew how far it was to the entrance from here.

Brock looked back at Ash who was zipping up his jacket with Pikachu inside, he was getting ready to run away.

"Ash please!" Brock's plea caught the attention of Tracey and Red who looked up to notice that Ash had backed away from the group.

"Ash – what are you doing?"

"It's almost time, we're leaving!"

Ash picked up his pack, "I'll be right – you just get back to the Indigo Plateau and let everyone know. I'll meet you there."

With that, he ducked out of the cave and started running toward the Onix, it was a stupid idea he realised that, arguably one of the most stupid things he'd ever done. These Pokémon wouldn't hesitate in killing and ripping him and his Pokémon apart and he felt comforted, he felt good – almost like himself again.

"ASH!" He turned back at the shout he heard that was too close for comfort, he was aghast to find Brock hobbling towards him.

"What are you doing?!" Ash yelled back, "go back to the teleport!" He waved his hand to make his point but Brock only grinned at him, "can't – they've already gone."

Ash gaped at him and ran back, acutely aware that the Onix was creeping forward slowly, his fellow "Defiled Ones" at his back. Ash skidded to a halt in front of Brock and wrapped an arm around his friend body to support him, "you idiot – you complete fucking idiot" Ash muttered as he half carried – half dragged Brock with him back to the cave.

"What – so it's fine for you to completely risk your life, but not the rest of us?" Brock gritted out through the pain.

Ash scoffed, "not the point right now Brock,"

"Then what is the point? I told you – I'm not letting you go in here by yourself and I'm also not leaving your here by yourself either. You don't get to make rash decisions just because you're hurting -"

There was a loud roar and the bickering duo looked up to see Onix swing its tail towards the rock face, the impact caused loose rocks to break away and tumble towards the pair. "Sorry Brock," Ash yelled and he pushed them both out of the way with less grace than a charging Rhyhorn.

Through the rising dust Ash could make out the glowing red eyes and veins he didn't particularly want to get any closer too, he could also see that the cave was now completely blocked off and there was only one way to go.

Brock eyes were wet from tears from the pain as he pushed himself to stand and Ash pulled him up next to him, "you alright?" Brock asked and Ash nodded grimly while feeling around for Pikachu who was still crawled up in his jacket and shivering from the proximity of the Defiled Ones.

Ash looked at the Pokémon looming over him and Brock, it was the closest he had ever been to one of them and he took the chance to get a better look in case, by some miracle, he and Brock got out of this predicament. The Onix eyed him and Brock with its glowing red eyes, malevolence was coming off the animal in waves and Ash could almost feel himself buckling, he wrapped an arm tighter around his chest in vain – trying to comfort Pikachu, even the remaining four Pokéballs at his belt were rustling with unrest.

Brock swallowed, the dust coating his throat dry and making his voice croaky, "what do you suppose will happen now?" He asked, not daring to take his eyes of the Pokémon in front of him.

"I don't know...but I have a feeling they are going to decide for us!" Ash added on a shout as the Onix slammed it tail into the ground, followed by the Golem grinding itself in place and the Rhyperior stamping in place.

"What are they doing?" Brock yelled as he and Ash tried to steady themselves as the ground shook beneath them, finding it harder to gain a foothold Ash tried to yell back but found the earth beneath him crumbling away and he and Brock fell into the darkness below.

* * *

 

"Cyrus is in the Indigo Plateau?!"

Agatha sighed as Lance made his return back to the Indigo Plateau with a literal bang – he had swung the door of the meeting room so hard that it crashed into the wall behind it and swung back violently and shut itself as Lance marched towards her, frustration plain all over his face.

"Welcome back," Agatha spoke drily, "tea?" she gestured to the half empty pot of cold tea in front of her and Lance scowled.

"What the hell is Cyrus doing here, does Cynthia know?"

Agatha hid a smile at the underlying worry in Lance's tone regarding Cynthia's well-being in the wake of Cyrus's strange arrival.

"Of course she knows, he was the sought her out."

" _What!?"_

"Do sit down Lance before you have a heart attack," Agatha chided tiredly, "Cyrus sent Cynthia a note – she didn't want to see him at first but then relented. As of now Cyrus is currently sleeping off...something in the medical ward and Cynthia is with him in case he wakes up."

"Alone?" Lance made to stand up but Agatha slammed her hand on the table.

"Alone, yes – however there are guards outside the door, Cynthia has her Pokémon with her and besides – he would never hurt her. Not even when under something...strange."

Lance sat back down as Agatha explained further all that had happened in his absence, "her touched seemed to soothe him," Agatha said as she took another sip of her cold tea, she made a grimace. "Currently there is no one better to look after him and besides - he brought us this." She gestured to the photos on the table and Lance had a look at them.

"Is this-?"

Agatha nodded, "it's the tablet from Sunyshore."

Lance paused, "that's awfully convenient," he said at length, suspicion and concern sprinkling his tone while he dumped the photos back onto the table.

"Too convenient," Agatha agreed, "but regardless for the moment we will take this small convenient victory. Professor Oak has the original and is running tests. Everyone is flocking back the Plateau due to the earthquake – I assume you have guessed why?"

Lance nodded, "sending another team in? Risky but necessary, I suppose. We're getting to the end of the two weeks and not a hide or hair from the team already inside and something doesn't feel right, an earthquake? The first big one like that in over 70 years and now this," he gestured to the tablet, "just happens to show up?" Lance shook his head, "it's almost like we're being played with."

"Maybe we are," Agatha said shrewdly.

Lance let out a sigh of his own as Agatha eyed him, "the Elders know," he said tightly. "But I don't think they're behind whatever's going on with Cyrus."

Agatha took that information in and moved her mouth into a look that showed her extreme displeasure at the situation, "and?" She asked, insinuating that Lance should elaborate further.

"Nothing you don't already know, 'come back to Blackthorn or we'll tell everyone' – the usual." Lance rubbed a hand over his face while Agatha rolled her eyes, "this is not the time to be glib Lance, he will tell and then what?"

"It doesn't matter whether he tells or not. People will find out one way or another, the better question is, how did already know in the first place – and no, it's not Clair. I already asked that question."

Agatha scoffed, "like the _Elder of Blackthorn_ would ever tell the truth," she spoke the title derisively and with a loathing that was surprising, even for Lance to hear.

"That's true, but this was different...I've never seen the Elder scared before and what's going on, what's happening...It's scaring him. He doesn't know what to do and because he has no answers I doubt he will tell anyone right now, no he will wait for the right moment." Lance narrowed his eyes as he thought about his last confrontation with the Elder, it was unusual for the Elder of Blackthorn to have behaved as such, he had never been afraid of Lance before and why now would that fear start?

"Just because he's afraid, it doesn't mean we shouldn't stop worrying about him and Blackthorn Lance. They are a very real threat to the potential future of the Indigo Plateau and we don't know what they've been up to these past years while you've been away."

"I should have ignored you when you told me not to go back – been a mole, anything." Lance mused and Agatha laughed throatily, "It wouldn't have changed anything, this may all still have happened and I doubt that Blackthorn would have given you the leeway the League has, you would have been stifled."

Lance opened his mouth to debate the point but was cut off as a loud beeping filled the room, "the front gate," Agatha mused, "not particularly promising." She fiddled with the button on the desk dashboard and a screen popped up in front of her and Lance with a security guard at the other end.

"Yes?" Agatha prompted impatiently.

"Master Lance, Master Agatha – one of the devices has gone off."

Lance immediately stood while Agatha went very still, "where?" Lance asked urgently while heading to the door.

"Outside the entrance to Victory Road,"

"Lance be careful – and don't open that inside!" Agatha called after him as he disappeared out the door, Pokéball already in hand.

* * *

 

Cynthia idly flipped one of the many books she had picked up from the Indigo Plateau, sitting by Cyrus' bedside – while necessary was also rather boring. He hadn't woken yet and he seemed to be completely calm for the moment.

He had remained this way, in a sleep-like trance since he had ended his rather abnormal episode the day before. Cynthia had taken the time beforehand to study her old friend, turned lover, turned enemy.

He had dark circles under his eyes –telling of his sleep deprivation, his skin was harsh and dry and his lips were cracked. His hair look greasy and unwashed and what was once a strong, broad shouldered body was thin, pale and lacking muscle. It was annoying that even in his haggard appearance; Cynthia found that he was still attractive to her.

He hadn't been taking care of himself, or he hadn't been allowed to maybe? It was unusual for Cyrus, he had always been the one to make sure, even when she had been on to something and worked late into the night, he had made sure that she ate – that she got at least six hours of sleep, that she took care of herself.

He hadn't told her to stop – even encouraged her study, but had also said that she needed to be healthy, she couldn't slave away and expect results when she was constantly at a quarter of her strength.

That had been an age ago, sometimes she could barely remember what he had been like before all that Team Galactic nonsense. She didn't think of him often now – unless something triggered a memory, sometimes it was important memory – like the time she had gotten a phone call saying her Grandfather was in hospital and she had rushed there to find that Cyrus taking care of both her Grandparents until she arrived, he had played Mahjong with her Grandmother until well into the evening – Cynthia still wasn't sure whether he had let her win or not. He has sneaked her Grandfather his favourite food and had even gone back to her Grandparents house to make sure it was ready and clean for their return.

She couldn't remember when he started to change; only that he did. She had asked all the questions:

Why?

How?

When?

Could I have done something?

Did I do anything wrong?

In the end she had just let him go, she hadn't understood and she couldn't live with someone who had the kinds of beliefs he did. It hadn't been until she had talked to his Grandfather that she had understood the why, it had stung that he had never shared any of his past with her, his inability to live up to his parent extreme expectations, his feelings of inadequacy, feelings of rejection.

She had wondered at one point whether her preoccupation with her studies and fascinations with Pokémon Myths and Legends had helped amplify those feelings of rejection, that maybe he had clung to her as a life line for being finally able to please someone, that maybe she had done something or triggered something to push him over that final edge.

She had never got a chance to ask him any of this before he had been trapped and lost in the Distortion World. When or if he had gotten out Cynthia didn't know, maybe the Distortion World and Giratina had something to do with Cyrus's current behaviour? With everything that was happening in Victory Road – maybe she needed to go to Mt Coronet...

"Don't...even...think about it..."

Cynthia jerked out of her unattractive but comfortable position in the chair she was sitting in that was situated in the corner of Cyrus' room, he eyes were open – half lidded, but open. One corner of his mouth was tilted up in a small smile while she mock glared at him – he used to do that, scare her while she had been deep in thought.

Cynthia pulled up the chair to Cyrus' bedside and he tilted his head in her direction, "how are you feeling?" She asked briskly while fussing with a cup of water and finding a straw for him to sip through.

Cyrus drained the cup before answering, "heavy." He shook his head when Cynthia offered more water and instead fixed her with a piercing stare, "but enough of how I am – you're not going into Mt Coronet."

Cynthia let out a chuckle and shook her head before leaning back in the chair and returning Cyrus' stare, "and how are you going to stop me?"

"I've got a few ideas, some I favour more than others, but even if I have to bring the Dragon Master into it I will. Listen to me Cynthia – you are not to go anywhere near Mt Coronet." Cynthia was surprised by the almost pleading tone of Cyrus' voice.

Twenty plus years they had known each other, he had always been able to read her like a book and up until a point, she thought she could read him too. In the end she hadn't fundamentally changed – which made him still able to read her and her thoughts, he knew exactly where her train of thought would take her, what her curious nature would invoked in her. He was scared for her.

She regarded him carefully, "Cyrus...what happened to you?"

He didn't respond immediately and instead he turned his head to look in the other direction, it wasn't a rebuff, Cynthia knew – he did this when he was trying to think of what to say, like he didn't want to give too much away.

"You wake up after...a seizure...or like you've been possessed and the first thing you do is you tell me to stay away from somewhere dangerous? Once upon a time you didn't care whether I got hurt or not-"

"Don't!" Cyrus hissed out the world and followed with hacking coughs, Cynthia offered him some more water and he took it before settling back into the bed. He took a couple of deep breaths in and out to calm himself while Cynthia placed the glass back on the table, looking at him with worry.

They were silent for a few moments, only the sound of Cyrus' heavy breathing cutting through. It wasn't that they were both uncomfortable with the silence, many a night they had passed an evening, each reading something different. Sometimes they would look up from their respective activities and smile at each other, sometimes when they were on the couch while watching TV Cynthia would lie down and either her feet of head would end up in Cyrus' lap. It didn't matter either way; Cyrus would stroke her hair or tickle and massage her feet.

When he did speak, it came out shakily – full of fear, full of regret, full of resignation. A croaky, horrible and terrifyingly sad sound, the sound of a damned man.

" _We delved too deep."_

Cyrus' eyes were wet with unshed tears as he finally turned his head to look at Cynthia, like he was almost saying sorry to her.

Cynthia proceeded carefully lest she trigger another seizure, "into Mt Coronet?" She asked tentatively and Cyrus nodded. "Who's 'we'?" She asked another question.

"Team Akagi – or Team Akagi reborn as it were, the sons and daughters of the original team, I had convinced them all to...retrace the steps of those before them." He let out a bitter laugh, "I wonder if the original Team Akagi ever found what we did." He had another coughing fit and Cynthia gave him some more water before asking her third question.

"What happened to them? I hadn't heard of the first Team Akagi ever and now you're saying there is a second team?"

"Was."

"Pardon?"

"Was," Cyrus corrected, "was a second team."

He let that statement hang in the air between the two and Cynthia opened her mouth hesitantly, "what happened to them?"

Cyrus cleared his throat, "they died." He said shortly and Cynthia didn't want the details on how even more than Cyrus seemed to not want to give them.

"Are you hungry?" Cynthia asked while standing up, "I'm not sure what's on the menu, but Mrs Ketchum makes a mean Omelette in a pinch-"

"Ask." Cyrus interrupted darkly.

Cynthia faltered, "Cyrus – I think that's enough, we don't have to-"

" _Ask!"_ He grit out, "I don't know when it will happen again and at the rate I'm going I don't know if this will end up being the last time I ever open my eyes again".

Cynthia stared at him while he struggled to sit up properly, at a loss of what to say she could only gape open mouthed as he looked at her wearily.

"I'm dying Cynthia, slowly and painfully. No more than I deserve but...whatever is...controlling me – the closer I get to revealing what I know the more it hurts, the more it tries to stop me."

Trying to take in what Cyrus was saying, Cynthia marched back to the bed, "you're not dying Cyrus, don't be so melodra-"

She broke off with a gasp when Cyrus grabbed her hand. His flesh was ice cold and yet he wasn't trembling, she looked at him with despair and confusing upon her face.

"I'm dying Cynthia and I don't know how long I have, so please – sit down and ask your questions. I will tell you everything I can."

Slowly, after taking it all in, Cynthia sat down. She didn't let go of Cyrus' hand while she asked her questions.

"You mentioned before...about Mt Coronet and...delving too deep. Was that in the Distortion World?"

Cyrus shook his head, "No, but while I was there I felt something – there was something else in or outside, or just near the Distortion World, something I could hear, but I couldn't see. It was strong, whatever it was, and I wondered what it was and what it could possibly – it also scared Giratina, every time it was near Giratina would just curl into itself, like it was trying to hide."

Cynthia nodded, "when did you get out of Distortion World?"

Cyrus tilted his head, "that I'm not too sure off; time didn't really mean anything when I was in there and I didn't care much for it when I got out either."

They went back and forth with these questions, occasionally stopping when Cyrus needed water, from these questions Cynthia had learnt what Cyrus had been up to since being out of the Distortion World, which by her calculations was about a year after he first went in.

He had spent the next few years studying up on the History of Mt Coronet, possible wondering what else could be in the mountain, he searched through Turnback Cave – aptly named he foreshadowed in his little tale, he then traveled the regions to learn more about the History of Mt Coronet and Turnback Cave. There wasn't a lot as he found – he only found what was he was looking for in Sunyshore.

"It was after Grandpa died," he spoke, "thank you, by the way, for coming to the funeral."

"You were there?" Cynthia asked, incredulous. "I didn't see you at all; everyone thought that his funeral was sorted by his Lawyer..."

"Hmmm, yes. I had always told Grandpa to leave that rat of a Lawyer, as it turned out it worked better in my favour and I was able to pay him off handsomely to not say anything...looks like he's kept up his end of the bargain so far."

"Cyrus!" Cynthia hissed at him and he grinned unapologetic.

"Well it did – the funeral was held and I was able to search through Grandpa's things without anyone interfering and that's where I found the tablet and about Team Akagi and well...in the end it wasn't really difficult, I just went to the descendants of the first team, all of whom were more than happy to talk about their elder generations triumphs and share what they knew. Which albeit wasn't a huge amount but a lack of information it was all it took to get another team together to experience all that their forefathers had before them."

He talked nostalgically, almost fondly of the group that went with them. It was surprising to Cynthia, "did you always feel like this when you were with them?" She asked softly.

The fondness vanished slowly as the sadness washed over him gently, "no – at first I found them irritating, but I hid it well...it wasn't till we were in there that things changed. Never met a more stupid and brave bunch of people in my life." He let out a choking kind of laugh that spoke volumes of what the group had gone through.

Deciding to quickly change the subject, Cynthia continued with her questioning, "what made you want to go into Mt Coronet again? Weren't you afraid that you would end up in the Distortion World again?"

Cyrus took a moment to answer, "after the fall of Team Galactic...I wasn't well." Cynthia hid a snort but Cyrus still caught her eye knowingly. "I felt different...light but not in a good way...light like a shadow – caught in darkness and unable to get out. I didn't care about... _anything._ " He stressed the word to make sure that Cynthia fully understood.

"Even when Grandpa died – nothing, there was nothing. No sadness, regret, fear. No emotion whatsoever."

"But isn't that what you wanted?" Cynthia asked quietly.

Cyrus nodded slowly, "yes – but this felt different."

"That usually happens, when you finally get what you want it's always different than from what you first imagine."

"Yes," Cyrus agreed, "but this was _different_." He insisted to Cynthia's doubt, "I felt trapped – like something was caged...I felt light – but the shadow was just expanding." He looked to Cynthia but he could read the doubt on her face.

Cyrus shrugged, "you won't get – not yet at least."

Cynthia looked at him sharply with narrowed eyes, "what do you mean, 'not yet'?"

Suddenly everything clicked inside Cynthia as she watched Cyrus almost shrink into himself at the thought of "not yet."

She stood up as she spoke, "something's coming? Someone? When you say delved too deep – you mean you and the second Team Akagi went deeper into Mt Coronet than the first team and you found something and whatever that something was it killed the other members? But you got out? You got and out and this is why all these seizures are happening to you? Because you weren't supposed to get out? How did you get out?"

"The team..."

"The team? The team what-" Cynthia stopped as she saw the pain upon Cyrus' face and she realised what happened. "They sacrificed themselves for you." Cynthia said, bewildered and horrified at the thought.

Cyrus laughed bitterly, "I know? Stupid right? So _stupid._ And what's worse? They did it voluntarily!" He sounded incredulous at the last word and laughed until he started another coughing fit.

Cynthia didn't bother getting him water this time, "a whole group of people are dead because of what you found in Mt Coronet, you are having seizures and speaking in riddles, you went into Mt Coronet because of the tablet that was originally found and which contains the same symbols of what is on the Pokémon we've found. It has to be connected, it has to be..." Cynthia muttered to herself.

"It is connected," Cyrus spoke up after he had got himself his own water, "I don't have evidence, but I saw it – they were covered in the same symbols as what was on the tablet and the Pokémon."

"Wait!" Cynthia held up a hand, "how is it you know about what's happening to the Pokémon anyway? That's supposed to be classified League information!"

Cyrus waved a hand lethargically, "not important right now, keep going Cynthia."

"Not important?" Cynthia parroted, "of course it's important! It means someone is leaking vital information to the public! We can't have that now, it could completely devastate-"

"Cynthia!" Cyrus spoke up loudly, interrupting another of her rambles. "Stop worrying about that and just _keep asking me."_ He grit out the words, like he was having trouble speaking.

Cynthia stared at him, taken aback by his insistence that she keep asking him questions. "What aren't you telling me Cyrus?" She asked in a whisper.

He smiled at her, "it's not what I'm not telling you Cynthia, it's what I _can't_ tell you."

Cynthia took that in for a minute, "is it...can you?" She stuttered, "can you only tell me if I ask you directly? Is that why you have the seizures? Because you get too close to saying something when someone hasn't asked you a direct question?"

The relief on Cyrus' face was palpable, he nodded with a bright grin on his face, "I knew if anyone would get it, it would be you."

Cynthia smiled back, happy that she had figured out something else... "but how does that work?" She asked.

Cyrus opened his mouth and stretched out his tongue before flicking it back against his teeth. There, on the back of his tongue was a symbol, glowing a dark red and thin veins were stretching out from it.

"So that's what's stopping you? And whatever you found in the cave...that's what put this on you?"

Cyrus nodded at the questions and finally Cynthia understood, she sat back down and got comfortable.

"Cyrus, what did you find in Mt Coronet?"

"A Pokémon"

"What kind of Pokémon?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know its type?"

Cyrus shook his head.

Cynthia took a moment to think of what she should ask him next but suddenly Cyrus let out a groan and his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Cyrus? Cyrus – no, Cyrus look at me! Cyrus? Guards!"

The guards burst in while Cynthia tried to bring Cyrus back, "get Professor Oak – and hurry!" She commanded at the guards without bothering to look their way.

"Cyrus look at me, Cyrus its Cynthia, we were just talking – do you remember? Can you hear me? Whoah!"

Cynthia jumped back as Cyrus lurched up in bed, bolt upright. His eyes were glowing red and thin veins were coming down and spreading into his cheeks.

She backed away to the door, hands at her belt ready.

"Sheeeeee who assssssssssssk too much."

The voice was wicked, hissing and it had evil and darkness dripping off it.

"Who are you?" Cynthia asked belligerently, "what do you want?"

"I am the Darknesssssssssss. I am Deattth."

Cynthia took in a few deep breaths, she understood now – what Cyrus had been talking about. Feeling light but also like something was encroaching on you from the inside out.

"What do you want?" Cynthia demanded, "tell me!"

Cyrus' body didn't changed, but the eyes flashed more and the veins trickled further as the whatever it was controlling Cyrus spoke.

"I want...my Vengeance."

"Your Vengeance? What do you mean by that – vengeance against what? Who?" Cynthia asked, willing her knees not to buckle anymore as she could feel every negative part of her coming to the forefront in the presence of this...thing.

"Arceeeuuuuuuus."

"Arceus?" Cynthia asked weakly as she fought the onslaught in her body and mind.

"Arceus...my other half, my brother, my enemy and captive."

Abruptly Cyrus body jolted, his eyes flashed his normal blue and then back to red as his body crumpled back onto the bed.

Cynthia leaned against the door for a good minute after that display, part of her not willing to go over to the still body lying haphazardly on the bed.

"Cyrus?" She called weakly. When she received no answer she took in a deep breath and slowly edged her way over to him. His eyes were shut and the red veins had receded by the time she had made it over to him, his chest was rising faster than normal but Cynthia would take that over no rising chest at all.

She was settling his body in a more comfortable position when Professor Oak burst in with two guards at his back and looked around wildly. He calmed down when he noticed nothing was broken and she wasn't hurt.

"Cynthia are you alright?" He asked coming over to her, his concern evident.

"Yes, I'm fine thank you Professor, he had another episode and...It was different."

"Different?" The Professor asked cautiously.

Cynthia opened her mouth to explain but was cut off when a hand grabbed her wrist, she jumped erratically and looked to see Cyrus holding onto her wrist tightly and staring at her with clouded blue eyes.

"Cyrus? Are you -?"

"Nadireous" he choked out.

"Nadireous?" Cynthia repeated, "what is that?" She could feel Professor Oak's hands holding onto her shoulders as silent support while she tried to talk to Cyrus.

"Name..." was all Cyrus whispered before he let go of her wrist and his whole body went limp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys – really sorry about the infinite wait for this but wow have I been working hard these past two months! Six major projects done and dusted with hopefully only a few small ones on the horizon!
> 
> The good news is that we are coming to the end of this arc! After that we have (if I've planned correctly) about two more, I'm not sure how many chapters in each – I've planned about 5-10 for each so far, but we will see.
> 
> Hope this chapter was worth the wait – revealed quite a bit? It didn't end up how I thought it would, but I still enjoyed writing it nonetheless and I like how it's come out. Hints at a lot but still hides some things as well.
> 
> Still more action to come – I make no promises when the next chapter will be out, but because this one comes so late I do want to try and crack on with the next bunch just to get through the hurdle that is Victory Road! But be aware – a lot may be revealed in the next few chapters – questions you guys have been asking for a while, etc.
> 
> As always, please let me know if you have any comments, concerns or questions, I'll do my best to answer them!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Brock find something in Victory Road, or something finds them? Tension rises at the Indigo Plateau

"Tracey!" Lance jumped off his swooping Dragonite with Gary coming up behind on his Fearow, guards were making their way on foot carrying medical supplies in case of emergency.

Lance slowed to a jog when he got closer, immediately noting that the one who he thought was Ash actually wasn't, Brock wasn't there at all, Clair was propped up against the array of backpacks they had – passed out and 'not-Ash-but-lookalike Ash' was currently bodily keeping Tracey from heading back into Victory Road.

"Red, get off me!"

"Tracey calm down – Tracey! There isn't anything we can do for them now, they made their choice. Tra-"

With a huge shove, an angry Tracey sent Red flying back tripping over himself until he ended up on his back, with a furious glare – one that had even Gary shocked, Tracey picked up a pack at random, uncaring as to what was inside it and headed back to the rock covering Victory Road.

Gary immediately sprinted over to get in front of Tracey while Lance knelt next to his cousin to check on her.

"Tracey!" Gary skidded to a halt in front of the determined researcher and held out his hands, "Tracey please – just wait, wait for a minute."

"We don't have time to wait!" Tracey insisted and tried to side step. Gary immediately matched him step for step and the engaged in that little battle for a few seconds before Tracey stopped and glowered his friend. "Get out of my way – now."

"No – look I understand that,"

"No!" Tracey held out a hand, cutting Gary off completely, "no – you don't understand, you have no idea and don't even begin to start!" His voice broke slightly at the end, belying his composure, anger notwithstanding.

"Okay! Okay..." Gary spoke softly and slowly he removed himself from his defensive stance, "I don't understand – I don't...but Tracey...we need to."

His imploring tone was working, or at least Gary thought it was. The wild, almost frantic look was out of Tracey's eyes and unless he was better at fooling him than Gary realised, Tracey wasn't going anywhere.

"Tracey, Ash isn't here, neither is Brock – Clair is out for count and I don't know who the hell that guy is only that he looks uncannily like Ash...you are currently all we have to go on. We need what information you have; we need to know what happened." Gary continued with his imploring tone of voice – working on the goodness that had once existed in Tracey and what Gary had hoped that Victory Road hadn't eradicated.

Tracey looked down at the ground almost not willing to look Gary in the eyes, like he was almost ashamed. Gary chanced a look to Lance who was still kneeling next to Clair but was watching his conversation with Tracey. He nodded at Gary and then looked to Red who was still sitting in the grass, looking as though a gust of wind might just finish him off.

"Clair, Clair hit her head," Tracey began with a small stammer and Gary snapped his eyes back to him and gave him an encouraging nod, "she wouldn't wake up and Red, Red he carried her back to where we were." He gestured a hand jerkily in the direction of Red who nodded gently as Gary met his eyes, Gary gave a sharp nod to the unnerving stranger and then turned his attention back to Tracey.

"...Brock was hurt, his ribs and we decided that because of the Defiled Ones and with everyone being hurt, we thought we would all Teleport out of there...but Ash he – and Brock followed, so  _stupid_!" Tracey threw his bag to the ground with a large swing and a cry of anger, the tears slowly falling down his cheeks as frustration took over.

Gary, trying to make sense of what Tracey was trying to say looked to Lance who looked just as taken aback by Tracey's outburst as Gary was, whatever he was trying to get out – it wasn't good and it seemed to be doing a number on Tracey's emotional and potentially mental state.

The guards arrived while Tracey was in the throes of what seemed a breakdown. He was down on his haunches, his head clutching at his stringy hair and was trying to calm himself down by breathing in deeply and slowly.

"Gary! Lance!" The two in question turned in the direction of their names being called, Professor Oak and Misty were running towards them with other Elite Four members and Gym Leaders from the varying regions.

Misty stopped in front of Gary and leaned forward to catch her breath, "we heard from Agatha that they were back," she was smiling but that smile fell when she noticed what was around her, or rather the lack of whom. She turned a questioning gaze to Lance who just looked at her impassively and then she looked to Gary who just shook his head.

She took a minute to compose herself before she marched towards Tracey, but Lance didn't miss the look on her face – the snapshot of utter desolation. "Tracey?" She spoke carefully ignoring Gary and his urging for her to leave him be.

She put her hands over those that were clutching at his hair and knelt down to where he was, "Tracey, hey," she smiled brightly as he lifted his head to look at her, "god you're a site for sore eyes, and what's this!" She tapped gently at the stubble on her friend's jaw, "what you couldn't have shaved in there?" She joked.

He let out a puff of a laugh, "yeah, sorry – bit busy, you know how it is? Running for your life?"

Misty nodded, "I remember, with glaring clarity, but I reckon you've probably had a harder time of it. I've heard the stories about Victory Road – is it like what Ash said?"

Tracey smiled weakly, "worse."

Misty bit her lip, trying not to let him show that the state he was in was affecting her so deeply, "typical Ash, only giving half the information."

Tracey nodded absently and Misty brought Tracey's hands down from his head to clutch them and hold them close to their almost touching knees, "I know, I know that you're not alright Tracey and I know that whatever happened is probably really hurting...but I just want to you to know that I'm so glad you're here. So glad..."

Tracey held on to Misty's hands tighter and together they just knelt there in silence for a few moments.

Gary watched this with a small smile, Tracey and Misty were great friends and when she had left Ash for reasons unknown to him, Tracey had been one of the first to visit her along with Mrs Ketchum in Cerulean City when she got back. Whether Tracey knew all that had happened between Ash and Misty, Gary didn't know, however regardless Tracey and Misty still remained close friends, often meeting at Mrs Ketchum's on Sundays for a big feed and Gary always had an open invitation along with his Grandfather and Sister.

"You did a good job in calming him down," Gary jumped and turned to the voice beside him, it was the strange man that had been with Tracey and Clair, the one that looked like an older version of Ash. Gary nodded, "yeah well we work together." Was all he offered.

The man appraised him, "Tracey mentioned you, Gary Oak correct?"

Gary looked startled, he was about to stammer out a reply when Lance – having just seen his cousin leave via stretcher still unconscious, walked over with Professor Oak in tow.

Professor Oak clasped a hand on Gary's shoulder, "yes – Red is quite right, you did do an excellent job with Tracey, Gary." Professor Oak smiled at his Grandson, who could tell instantly that the smile was fake.

"'Red?'" Came the rather suspicious tone of the Dragon Master, "that's your name?"

Lance's impoliteness aside, Red remained unruffled. "Hello Samuel, glad to see you're looking well. Gary, I assume, is your grandson?"

The fake smiled was now out in full force, "yes – please," Professor Oak gestured for the two of them continue back to the Indigo Plateau and Red bowed his head slightly before moving forward.

"I'll see you back there Gary, please tell Tracey that I will come see him soon." Lance and Gary watched as the two walked off, there was a silence between the two before Lance spoke, with a bite in his voice, "there is no way that man is not related to Ash in some way."

"I've never seen him before, but if anyone would know it would probably be my Grandpa – or Mrs Ketchum." Lance nodded and tucked that information away for later use.

"What would Mrs Ketchum know?" Misty asked lightly as she and Tracey walked up to Lance and Gary, the four were the only one's remaining outside Victory Road and there was a small trail of people heading up towards the Indigo Plateau.

"Who that man was – the one that looked far too much like Ash to be a coincidence."

"That's Richard Ketchum – or Red, as he likes to be called. He's Ash's father." Tracey said baldly, too exhausted to care otherwise.

Three heads whipped around to stare at him, each with equally shocked looks on their faces. "What?" Gary asked his eyes growing wide with his shock. He turned back to see his Grandpa and Red walking further away from them. "But I thought...I thought he was dead?"

"We all did," Lance spoke with a growl, Gary turned to look at the Dragon Master who had his fists clenched and was livid, "all this time he's been alive – and in Victory Road of all places? Did you know?" He turned on Gary who shook his head and raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I had no idea – what makes you think I would? I just said I thought he was dead!"

Lance let out a hum of disapproval, "because your Grandfather didn't seem too surprised to see him, at all. Makes one wonder if he knew all along, actually it makes sense. If Red's alive, well..." He shook his head and grinned sardonically.

Gary didn't like the negative implications towards his Grandpa, he took a step forward but Misty held out an arm, "do you think Agatha would have known?" She asked Lance and he nodded briefly.

"Without question, at least one person of the Elite Four has to know who's in Victory Road at all times and since I didn't know, it only makes sense that she does...Agatha and Professor Oak are old friends and I'm pretty sure it would have been Professor Oak who would have entered Red into the Indigo League...all those years ago." Lance let out a laugh, "fuck... did Ash and Red...talk at all?" Lance asked Tracey who let out a shrug and shook his head at the same time.

Lance looked apologetic, "sorry Tracey, I shouldn't be asking you all these questions –but do you mind if I ask one more before we get you back to the Plateau to be looked at?"

"Last time I saw Ash and Brock they were alive – that's what you wanted to know isn't it?"

If Lance was surprised by Tracey's guess he didn't show it, he just nodded, "but they were alright?" Lance asked.

Tracey bit the inside of his cheek, "I don't know if they are now, but at the time I saw them – they were doing okay – Brock's ribs aside."

Lance let out a breath, "okay – i'll take it. Besides, we're having another Summit shortly – your information will prove useful if we are to send another team in to bring Ash and Brock back-"

Tracey lurched forward and held onto Lance's forearm, he had gone white at Lance's declaration that they were to send another team in, "you can't – you can't send another team in." He almost stuttered over the words. He was holding onto Lance's arm so tightly that the Dragon Master had his face clenched in pain.

"Tracey? Tracey, its okay – we don't have to send another team in – alright – right Lance?" Gary had his arm around Tracey and Misty had come forward to place her hands on Tracey's to gently ply them from Lance's arm.

Lance had taken in Gary's suggestive tone of voice that he agree, the tight grip on his arm and the terror in Tracey's face, part of him couldn't say no because whatever had happened to make Tracey so brutally afraid of Victory Road could be doing the same thing to Ash and he couldn't allow that to happen to his friend.

In the end, it was his Dragonite that had made the decision for him – she had seen the look of pain on his face and was on her way over to investigate, Tracey didn't need any more harm done to him.

"Right," was all Lance managed to ground out before Tracey finally let go of his arm with an exhale of relief. His grateful smile to the Dragon Master made him feel awful, he grimaced back – "let's get you back to the Plateau, I'm sure Mrs Ketchum will be happy to fuss ove-"

Misty suddenly let out a shriek and held her hands to her mouth, all three men jumped and looked to her, "what? What is it? What's wrong?" Came the chorus of all three as they looked to her and around them for danger.

"Oh – Mrs Ketchum? She doesn't know? Does she? She doesn't know that her long thought dead husband is just walking his way back to her right now does she?" As the realization hit the three men looked aghast at the realisation, Misty immediately started hitting Gary, "go – take Tracey and go – on your Fearow, get him to her and for the love of god warn her! Go Gary! Go!"

Gary, doing his best to avoid Misty slapping and hitting his back to get a move on, released his Fearow and helped Tracey onto it. Once they were in the air and covering ground more quickly Misty let out the breath she was holding, "oh god," she bent over and braced herself on her knees.

"Are you alright?" Came Lance's voice from above her and he placed a hand on her back for support.

Misty nodded gently, "yeah, it's just – I..." She couldn't get the words out, but Lance patted her back to show that he understood and then left her side. Once she had righted herself, Misty looked around for the Dragon Master, "we should probably head back up – besides I need to debrief you."

Lance was looking towards the entrance to Victory Road and his Dragonite had ambled up beside him, she noticed that he clenched his fists open and shut twice. She smiled, it would have had to be killing him to be so close and to not go in.

"You know you can't Lance," she said as she drew closer and stood beside him, "you're needed at the Summit."

"Am I?" Lance asked lightly, "last time I thought I had everything under control, only for Ash to go and blindside me, I wait with baited breathe to see what will happen this time around." He was sarcastic and angry. Probably more angry that Ash hadn't come back rather than what he pulled at the first Summit, but Misty wasn't going to mention that.

"Yeah you are – because if we are going to send another team in we're going to need people to vouch for going in again and looking at Tracey, he's not going to want anyone in and probably for good reason in the first place, we're going to need volunteers, we're going to need someone to believe in."

Lance scoffed at her last few words, "and when has anyone ever believed in me?"

"Ash did."

Lance didn't look at her, but she could feel him still completely next to her, "he believed in you always, and I'm not just talking about Pokémon battles or any of the Elite Four nonsense or anything like that. I'm talking about the fact that you are still here – he believes in you enough that he didn't take you with him because he knows that if...if for any reason he should fail..."

"Then I'll be there, to pick up from where he left off." Lance finished, remembering the conversation he had on the battlements of the Indigo Plateau with Ash.

Misty smiled slightly, "I think the problem is that you don't believe in yourself, as least you don't see what the rest of us see."

Lance scoffed, "don't you have something to tell me?" He asked slightly harshly, changing the subject.

Misty stared at him ruefully, "someone is leaking information, Bill is trying to figure out who but it's proving more difficult than he first thought."

"Someone cleverer than Bill? Hm, that must be irritating."

Misty rolled her eyes at the uncontained happiness in Lance's voice, "why is it that you two dislike each other so much? I mean Bill speaks in half truths and riddles so much I never know what he's trying to get at, but you must have a reason."

Lance glanced at her, "must I?"

Misty took in a deep breath, "yes – you're untrusting for sure, but unless someone gives you a reason to, you don't hate outright, that's not your style Lance."

"My style? What the hell would you know about it?" Lance laughed incredulously and turned away from Victory Road to start walking back to the Indigo Plateau. Misty caught up to him after a few seconds, "because once upon a time you and I were friends – remember that?"

"Yeah I remember," Lance spoke bitterly, marching forward and setting a pace that Misty found it hard to keep up with unless she ran, "I remember we were all friends – until you left the proclaimed 'love of your life' – why is that?" He stopped and turned so sharply that Misty almost fell over, "why did you leave Ash? What the hell could be so important that it would make you stop all contact with him?"

Misty rolled her eyes, "that is none of your business, it's between me and Ash and will be dealt with if and when the time comes, but since we're on the topic of asking personal questions, why did you never tell Jasmine you liked her?"

Lance looked bewildered for a moment before he spluttered out an answer inelegantly, "me and Jasmine are nothing compared to you and Ash and you know it. And none of my business? It sure as hell became my business when I got a call from Brock telling me to get my ass over there and knock some sense into them because you had left and had told him you no longer wanted anything to do with him! Do you have any idea what that did to him?"

Misty sucked in her cheeks briefly, "you've liked Jasmine since you became Champion – how long has that been Lance? All those years wasted? Tell me – what stopped you from telling her?"

He glared at her, "maybe you've forgotten but she's engaged? You should know, aren't you one of her bridesmaids?" He asked mutinously.

Misty nodded, "yeah she is now, back then she wasn't and yet you decide it's best to show her any attention now, here, in the middle of an interregional calamity and when she's engaged, you decide to talk to her and kiss her!"

Lance's face immediately dropped from anger to shock and embarrassment, he went from white faced to pink cheeked, "that, I...that..." he stammered slightly, "it was a mistake and wasn't meant to happen, it was an accident. It won't happen again." He said firmly.

Misty looked at him hard, "It won't" he insisted and then looked away, "women," he muttered to himself and Misty rose an eyebrow towards him.

"She loves Falkner," Misty said after a few silent seconds, "she loves him."

"What? Like you loved Ash?" Lance asked with snark lacing his tone and refused to feel bad when he saw her bite her lip and control the rest of her face.

"She loves him, very much and you had best stay away. You will not ruin their relationship." Lance looked scandalised at the thought, "what like I ruin so many others? I told you, it was an accident and it won't happen again, ever. Besides, you're one to talk about ruining a relationship."

Misty bristled, "I remember you know, I remember what you said, when you talked about her."

Lance took a moment, trying to fight the blush that he knew would spread up the back of neck and to the tips of his ears, "that's irrelevant."

"Irrelevant?" Misty parroted, "Lance I have never heard anyone talk about someone that way, your feelings for her-"

"My feelings for her aside, I was drunk then and had just lost to Cynthia, what I said is irrelevant. Like you said, she's engaged. It's over. I will stay away-"

"Can you though?" Misty asked, "can you stay away?"

"Yes, I have done so for the last ten years of my life – it's easy. You probably know all about it."

Misty scowled at him and Lance raised an eyebrow, "you say you haven't heard anyone talk about someone that way, it's interesting because everything I said, it pales in comparison to what Ash said about you."

There was a short silence where the two red-heads just looked at each other before Misty, on an exhaled breathed spoke, "you bastard." It was quiet and finite and quietly Lance agreed with her, but he'd never say it to her face.

"I've been called worse." Lance said flatly, "now that I've answered all your questions – you can answer mine."

Misty scoffed and pushed past Lance to head back up to the Plateau, she half expected to run into his Dragonite blocking her.

"What are you so afraid of? Why won't you tell me?" Lance shouted back, genuinely curious.

Misty shook her head and kept walking, "it's not that I won't tell you Lance," she spoke over her shoulder, "you're just asking the wrong questions."

* * *

Red didn't know when it was he passed out, he could feel himself in that dream awake state, he could feel that there was someone near him, someone tending to the wound on his head and cleaning the blood away.

He didn't mind the sensation and he didn't want to open his eyes just yet. He lay still, enjoying the care. He had remembered what had happened and where he was – he was in the Indigo Plateau and after having a rather subtle, but charged conversation with Samuel Oak he had been directed to the medical wing where he had promptly – after removing some of his more grubby attire – laid down and slept fitfully.

It seemed that it was now his turn to be looked after, he wondered briefly at the state of Clair and Tracey before his mind wandered to Brock and Ash. He supposed it was something he deserved to see once in his life, but seeing his son walk away from him – into certain danger – it was more brutal than ever thought it could be.

He hadn't, up until a few days ago, ever seen his son. He had left Delia before Ash had been born – gone on a never-ending journey. He had no real excuse, he never had. Many who had found out what he'd done were appalled, most of who ignored him he didn't really care about – but there were a few that did, their disappointment in him, that had stung the worst.

Part of it had been he wasn't ready to let go, he had been on this journey for a long time and becoming a Pokémon Master had been his dream since he was a child. He hadn't really thought about meeting someone like Delia until he had, sure he had explained to her what his dream was and how marriage and a white picket fence and all that just wouldn't work for him, hell everyone had tried to talk her out of it but she had stayed resolute.

" _My dream is your dream..."_

In the end making her happy had been what he wanted most and thus he'd married her and he'd gone off and come back every few months or so, she would welcome him back with a huge smile and open arms every time. She never complained, never said a word. She never cried and never made him feel guilty for leaving – that would all come later, on cold, dark nights when he could do nothing but think of her and wonder how she was.

The last time he had come back – she had been glowing, ridiculously happy and thriving even without him there. He hadn't made the conscious decision to never come back right then and there. He had promised to be back for the birth, there had been rumours of a mysterious Pokémon, all bright gold and red – a legendary, one he had to see. It was only six months out from the birth of Ash but Delia had watched him go with a content smile. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months – all without any contact. He had been steadfast in his contacting of his wife, always. He would warn her when he was going into more elusive territory and that contact may be cut off for long periods, but this time there had been no warning.

He hadn't seen her since that day, he hadn't come back, hadn't had any contact with her. Part of it he supposed was that he was afraid. Ash hadn't been planned but he was not a mistake either. He hadn't not wanted Ash, but nor had he wanted to be a fixed point in his sons life. He hadn't ever thought he would feel  _fatherly_  towards Ash, he hadn't thought caring for his son in such a primal way was a part of him.

He could not have been more wrong.

Cool, delicate hands wiped away the furrow of his brow gently and he relaxed again, swallowing slightly and hoping whoever it was tending to him didn't notice he was awake yet.

It had been an age since he had been around civilisation, or at least, this much of it. There would be a few hundred people within these walls and he wouldn't be able to leave until this whole thing was sorted, an annoyance he would forbear if not for the sake of Ash alone. He had told Samuel that regardless of whether he was invited or not, he would be going back into Victory Road as soon as he was able to fetch Ash and bring him back.

Delia deserved that from him at the very least. It may have been over 20 years since he had seen her last, but she still managed to bring a smile to his face every time. He didn't know if she had re-married or not, knowing her she wouldn't have – it churned his stomach thinking about it. He wouldn't have mind it if she did, after all he was useless as a husband and only good for loving her. It was more the thought of her unhappiness that made him ill, if there was ever only one thing in life he wanted, it had been for Delia to be happy.

She had been ecstatic at the thought of Ash where he had been subdued and worried. She had always encouraged him to go out and finish his journey, though he doubted whether she thought it would take this long. Many a letter had been sent and gone unanswered. Most of them from Samuel Oak – who Red had been sure would take much better care of Ash than he ever could.

The cool hand on his brow stilled and Red could hear the door opening, the person next to him removed their hand and walked over to greet who came in to the medical bay.

"How is he doing?"

It was Samuel, Red didn't know whether to be surprised or not. Samuel had always cared for people, perhaps more than he should, from the undertones of their prior conversation however, Red wondered how far that care still stemmed to him.

"He's okay, just sleeping at the present – probably a bit battered and bruised all over really but as far as we can all tell there is no internal damage."

Internal damage? She must have been joking? He would recognise that voice anywhere...and what it did to him. It could still pierce every organ and make his blood heat up.

Red opened his eyes a fraction, not daring to believe that his wife had been the one tending to him while he mused about a life he had once left and had thrown away carelessly only to have it come steaming towards him like an out of control freight train 20 years later.

He knew he had liked the cool hands for a reason, the auburn hair, and slender figure even after child-birth, the permanent warmth and glow that seemed to just radiate from her. There she was, after 20 years just standing a few feet away from him.

"I guess we will have to wait and see how he feels when he wakes up."

Samuel took a beat and looked him in the eyes, "or you could ask him now."

Delia turned and looked to him, their eyes met and Red clenched his fingers to form a fist and may have stopped breathing briefly. She walked over to him, keeping her eyes on his face. She wasn't smiling but she wasn't snarling at him either – a good sign, all things considered.

She stopped next to his bed, placed her hand over his clenched fist and he let out the breath he was holding.

Her smile was brilliant and warmed him from the inside out, "hello Richard."

He didn't say anything, just stared at her, disbelief plain all over his face that she was standing right in front of him. She kept smiling – more than used to his staring at her as he had done it often a long time ago.

She sat down next time him and filled glass with water and plucked a straw into it before offering it to him. He took a couple of sips after a moment; let the cool water ease the dry feeling in his throat. "We'll have to see about getting you proper food to fatten you up, if anything you may be a bit malnourished, but we will let the Doctor take a look at you and see if there is anything amiss. Professor Oak – do you think Agatha will let me in the Kitchens? I know it's late -oh?"

As she had got up to move away towards the door, Red had threw out his hand and latched on to the top of her wrist, he tried to open his mouth to say something,  _anything_  to get her to stay and to sit beside him.

He didn't even notice Professor Oak quietly excusing himself from the room; his one focus was on the smiling visage of his wife. She sat back down in the chair beside his bed and rearranged their hands so they were palm to palm.

Red tried to speak but he couldn't force the words out of his throat, he could feel himself becoming overwhelmed, his body was shaking slightly and he could feel the tears start to fall. He could feel Delia's grasp on his hand tighten as everything overwhelmed him all at once, he couldn't speak or even think properly. He could only shake and feel and try to get his body's reaction under control.

His throat was still dry and raspy and what few words he could end up getting out were almost unintelligible, gasps and broken, stuttered words as he tried to explain, tried to apologise and tried to ask for forgiveness.

But that was the thing about Delia Ketchum, the big reason why he decided to marry her apart from the fact that he loved her more than anyone else he had ever met.

She never asked for anything more than he could give, and as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into one of her hugs that he had almost forgotten what they were like, the tears came in full force and he wrapped his arms around in turn, holding her tight and wondering how he ever let go in the first place.

* * *

When Lance arrived back at the Indigo Plateau he was surprised to see a few people outside in the courtyard waiting for him. Misty had been only just ahead of him the whole way back and the two of them hadn't talked after she had told him he had been asking all the wrong questions.

He would figure what that little nugget meant later, right now he was more focused on the fact that why only half of the original team sent into Victory Road came back – with Ash Ketchum's Father no less.

Again – more questions and few answers. Like where the hell were Brock and Ash? What had happened in Victory Road? What was going on in Victory Road? How had they met up with 'Red,' and that was just starting with this group.

Coming back from Blackthorn from a massive earthquake that had devastated parts of Johto and Kanto, only to find a possessed, nihilistic, once-upon-a-time lover of Cynthia, currently making his home at the Indigo Plateau, it was not at all what he was expecting, nor what he needed at present.

He ignored those that tried to make him stop and answer questions and marched forward – looking for Agatha. He had noticed Jasmine hovering at the corner of his peripheral vision, however he couldn't deal with that and her right now and he knew that if he made any sort of eye contact she would take that as an opening.

Gary walked past him carrying one of the bags that Tracey had been carrying, "Oak? Have you seen Agatha around?"

Gary didn't pause and he continued to the grand staircase, "yeah, she's with my Gramps – in the medical wing."

Sending a salute of thanks, Lance quickly headed in the direction of the medical wing and came upon Agatha and Professor Oak talking quietly outside one of the doors. They stopped talking as he approached and greeted him quietly.

"Lance, I'm sorry to hear about Clair. How is she doing?"

Lance grimaced at Professor Oak, "she's being looked over, but they can't seem to find anything wrong with her, she's just...sleeping."

Professor Oak hummed, "well looking at Tracey and how he's holding up, it wouldn't surprise me if this was Clair's way of dealing with everything, retreating – clearing her mind."

Lance furrowed his brow, "what – you think she's just...not waking up on purpose?"

"Whatever happened in Victory Road, its rattled Tracey and he's not easily distressed...Clair hitting her head, this may just be her body's way of healing. She'll be okay Lance, she will wake up." Professor Oak added with a comforting smile.

Lance nodded, he was meant to go and check on her in another few hours, he hated compartmentalising his duties like this, but for now he had to put Clair to one side and only hope that she would wake up soon.

"I assume 'Red' is in there, or Richard Ketchum as he's otherwise known." Lance asked with a hint of snark to his tone.

"Correct, he's currently being taken care of by Mrs Ketchum, appropriate some might say, awkward would be how I classify it." Agatha chimed in and Professor Oak sighed.

"It only shows how well you don't know Delia Ketchum, Agatha. A wonderful lady – who would do wonders to even your personality." Professor Oak said rather harshly, surprising Lance.

"How is she taking the return of her husband?" Lance asked after he had gotten over his surprised, Professor Oak shook his head, "I haven't had a moment to talk to her," he explained "but as well as one can be expected I suppose."

Lance nodded, "Indeed, especially considering at least one of you know where he would have been all this time."

At the dropping of this bombshell the tension between the three rose and Lance, not ever being one to let things lie spoke up, "considering the look of guilt on your Professor Oak and the unrepentant defiance on yours Agatha, I would imagine you both would have had a hand in this."

Professor Oak began to speak in that placating tone of his as usual, but Agatha, bold as always interrupted, "yes, we did – is that what you wanted to hear Lance. Yes, both Oak and I knew that Richard was still alive and of his whereabouts. Satisfied?"

Lance rolled his eyes, of course he wasn't satisfied and she damn well knew that. "Why did you do it?" He asked at length, looking between the two – each at least two generations older than him, "you kept his existence a secret from his wife – his son, two people who needed him, you told nobody, no hint – nothing!" Lance broke off as his anger made his voice turn to a hiss. He ran a hand through his red hair in frustration, "just tell me why you would do that to someone you care about?"

He had specifically addressed Professor Oak for his last question, whatever had been going through Agatha's mind, Lance could guess and he knew he wouldn't like it. The Professor being involved however, that had surprised him. It wouldn't have been an easy secret to keep over the years, especially living so closely to the Mother and Son, but kept it he had and well.

Professor Oak took in a deep breath before he spoke, "at first I didn't know where he was – when he first left we were all under the assumption that he was coming back for the birth. When he didn't and there had been no letter, we all assumed the worst."

Professor Oak paused and swallowed, "watching the months before Ash's birth, I should hope that I never see anything quite like it again. Watching Delia try to hold in her tears every day, struggle her way up the steps to the Indigo Plateau, screaming at the Elite to inform her of her husband's whereabouts, losing the light in her eyes and finally giving birth prematurely to Ash – who we weren't sure would make it at that point..." Professor Oak shook his head, "it all melted away when Ash was put into her arms – he was – is her whole world."

Professor Oak turned to look at Lance this time to drive his point home, "Red came back a few months after Ash was born, he probably still has the scar from where his chin hit the corner of a table after I had punched him. He didn't see Delia, nor did he see Ash. He just informed me where he was going, he would send letter to keep me informed of where he was when he moved in case of any emergencies and to send money for Delia and Ash regularly."

Lance didn't say anything as he took in Professor Oak's story; however he could feel the ire towards Red Ketchum grow as things became clear.

"He didn't tell me to keep it a secret, nor did he tell me to tell Delia and at that time, I just couldn't tell her – Delia is a naturally happy, effervescent person and watching her descend into what she did...I just couldn't and then over the years...her and Ash, they just flourished without him. They didn't need him...from what I could see and Red showed no signs of ever showing an interest so I just..."

"Never said anything," Lance finished as the Professor trailed off. Professor Oak nodded and took in a deep breath before continuing again.

"So yes, I knew – I knew all this time and yes it is the reason I'm keeping Ash from competing in the Indigo League, should he get as far as you – and of course he will, then he will have to face the true Champion of Kanto, his father." He stared hard at Lance who only scoffed and raised his hands and glared at the both of them.

"Yes, thank you – I'm quite aware of the fact that I am only a stand-in for the 'real Champion' however it would have been nice to have been in on this little secret." He hissed with contempt.

Agatha raised a brow, "in what universe would you have ever been let in on this secret, you would have had run to Ash to moment you found out and told him."

Lance shrugged, "probably – but then again he does deserve to know – him and Mrs Ketchum both deserved to know that he was ALIVE at least! Who are you two to make decisions for their family?"

Agatha scoffed while Professor Oak puffed up slightly, "I have known Delia since she was a teenager and I was one of the first people to hold Ash when he was born, he has been friends with my Grandson his whole life, he has lived in the same town – I practically helped raised Ash!"

At Lance's unimpressed look, Professor Oak scowled in irritation, "when you have seen what I saw – when you see Delia Ketchum in such despair you will understand."

Lance growled, "but I do understand – I understand very well. I may not have seen Mrs Ketchum as such, but her son? I've seen Ash like that – I've seen him so low that I wondered if he would ever get out of bed again. Believe me, it's not something I care to have to repeat again. Ever – and don't look so confused, you know what I'm talking about."

Silenced reigned between the three before Agatha broke it, "regardless of what our reasons were Lance, here we are –s o I suggest you get over it and quickly. We have bigger things to worry about than the state of the Ketchum Household."

Lance nodded, "yeah we do – like the fact that with Red here I am no longer Champion of Kanto – ergo, problem."

"Yes, well it's low on the list of priorities right now Lance, what with a possessed Cyrus nearby, whatever is going on Victory Road that Tracey has yet to inform us of, the fall-out from the earthquake and the sudden influx of questions pertaining to why the Gym Leaders have all flocked here and what is happening from the public." Agatha growled with a light thump of her walking stick, "we need to get a full briefing from Tracey, get the Elite Four and Gym Leaders together to organise themselves in way of getting the earthquake recovery up and ready and then, then we will deal with...Cyrus."

"And what about Ash and Brock? They are still in Victory Road," Lance argued, "we can't leave them there, we need to send someone in there to help them get out. Every second counts Agatha –we need another Summit and quickly!"

"Not until we have talked with Tracey," Agatha spoke firmly.

Professor Oak sighed, "I agree...we need to know as much as possible before sending others in Lance otherwise sending the first group in and possibly losing more people...it may all be for naught. We need to be smart about this."

"Smart?" Lance asked incredulously and let out a laugh, "nothing about this is smart, sending people in was not smart, letting Cyrus in here was not smart and certainly not informing the public – that was not smart. But because of  _freaking protocol!"_ Abruptly Lance stopped and clenched a fist, "look, whatever Tracey has to say...it's not going to be pretty and I guarantee it will scare people off – we need to get a decision before this happens!"

At Agatha's blank stare Lance turned to look at Professor Oak who couldn't manage to look him in the eye.

"So that's it?" Lance bit out, "that's your whole plan? Figure out everything else but leave Ash and Brock in Victory Road to fend for themselves? Do either of you even remember Victory Road? How hard it is alone without everything else?"

"I believe in Ash-"

"Don't you fucking dare –"

"Lance!"

Despite Lance's censure, Professor Oak still laid a hand on Agatha's shoulder to stop her from calling out Lance any further. She said nothing further but managed to send a fellow glare Lance's way.

Lance shook his head and turned to walk away but then turned back quickly and stood too close for Professor Oak's comfort who could not step back as Agatha was behind him.

"Fine, that's fine." Lance whispered, his tone almost menacing in its quietness, "you want to leave Ash and Brock in there, you go right ahead – but it's on you. If, if they come out you will be lucky, but if they don't – you will have to live with your decision for the rest of your life. She, I'm sure, will be able to." Lance jutted his chin to Agatha behind the Professor, but didn't take his eyes away, "I doubt there is anything she regrets, but you – you I know will regret it. Because you are the one who helped send Ash to his grave and you tell me, you tell me how you will be able to look at Delia Ketchum in the eye then?"

Professor Oak was chalk white and even Agatha looked less that her staunch self.

Lance stepped back slightly, "or is that it? You think she won't mind, the trade off again – son for a husband?"

" _Lance!"_

"You figured she's done it once before, she can do it again?"

"Master Lance!"

The tension was so high that the messenger stopped a ways away from the group of three, hesitant to come close. Lance eventually glanced away from Professor Oak and Agatha to give the messenger a terse 'yes?' in reply.

"Master Lance, please come quickly – Clair has gone into cardiac arrest."

* * *

Ash didn't know how far he fell, but he felt lucky that he didn't take all the impact into his legs. He had fallen bodily onto his left side and he could feel the throb of pain from his connect to the ground beneath him radiate from his jaw to his ankle.

He didn't know where he had fallen; he couldn't see anything, just pitch black darkness with not even a pair of glowing red eyes. He was thankful for that, but without any light he would have to tread even more carefully. He stayed where he was for a few moments and felt around with his right hand, from what he could feel he had fallen to solid ground and nothing would be falling away beneath him anytime soon.

Once he had semi-secured his and Pikachu's immediate short-term safety, relatively speaking, Ash felt around his chest where he had last had Pikachu, he let out a sigh when he realised that he hadn't been kidding himself and that his Pokémon was still cuddled into his chest, holding on tightly with his paws.

"You okay buddy?" Ash rubbed a hand up and down Pikachu's back, a stupid question in light of the circumstances, he didn't receive an answer and Pikachu was no longer shaking, but it didn't mean that everything was okay and unwilling to take any chances; Ash gently sat up and tried to manoeuvre his backpack off his shoulders as quickly as possible.

While he was doing that he tried listening out for any other noises, hoping that Brock could be close by and could hear him moving. He managed to unzip the backpack and rummaged around for a flashlight, headlight – lighter, anything that would let him see.

He eventually managed to find what felt like a lighter and brought it out with a happy smile. "Alright," he whispered to himself and ran a hand comfortingly over Pikachu's back; he looked around and seeing nothing, he brought his thumb down to ignite the flame. The first thing he noticed was the grime on his hand, the second was that Pikachu had his eyes closed tightly and just seemed to be clutching on to his shirt.

"Pikachu?" Ash questioned as brought the light closer to examine his Pokémon but Pikachu remained still as a statue, his breathing even seemed non-existent. "Pikachu buddy, I need you to open your eyes."

"Ash?"

Ash lifted up his head quickly to see Brock dragging himself towards him. The overwhelming feeling of relief was palpable on Ash's face and he got to his feet to rush over to Brock, "where does it hurt?" Ash asked and Brock let out a snort.

"Everywhere!"

Ash let out a small chuckle, "well you mustn't be dying then! Roll over onto your back, I'll drag you over. Here – hold the lighter."

"I landed a little way over there," Brock pointed in a direction he was sort of sure of with the hand that held the flame, "I saw the light and figured what other option did I have?"

"Yeah – it's a good thing you saw it, I probably would have started in the wrong direction."

"Comforting," Brock grit out through his teeth as Ash propped him up against a wall that they had found, "pass us that – i'll go and get the backpack, I think we still have some food leftover."

"Woo!" Brock waved a hand while Ash walked carefully back to the backpack to retrieve it.

"I was right, look at this feast my friend...muesli bars!"

Brock turned his head, "with the chocolate on top?"

Ash chuckled, "saved the best for last!" He unwrapped one of the bars and passed it to Brock who took a small bit and groaned lightly, "this really shouldn't taste as good as it does."

The two were silent for a bit while they ate their food, "any sign of them?" Brock asked on a sigh as he finished the last of his bar and rubbed at the bandages on his ribs."

Ash shook his head, "not currently...haven't heard a peep...and it's completely pitch black down...here, wherever or whatever this place is...I don't' like it, nor does Pikachu. It's eerie."

"Small mercies I suppose," Brock said, "trade light for dark but maybe with nothing in the darkness?"

Ash smiled, "I like that optimism."

Brock bowed his head, "well how's this for optimism? What are we going to do?"

There was a bleakness in his tone that made Ash pause. It spoke volumes really. None of them had a Pokémon that could teleport them out of Victory Road, they were running low on supplies, Brock was badly hurt and neither of them even knew if they were still in Victory Road, let alone the fact they had the Defiled Ones hunting them out.

Ash said nothing, what could he say? He didn't even know if Clair, Tracey and Red had made it out okay, he had already lost one of his Pokémon; he didn't want to lose another one. The Pokeball's at his belt were no longer rustling with a nervous energy; they were as still as Pikachu was.

"I don't know Brock, I...really, just...don't."

Brock nodded, "good, then I'm not the only one. That's kind of a relief, got to say."

Ash shook his head, "stop trying to be funny Brock, it's not a good look for you."

"What like dark and brooding is a good look for you? Ash your hair can only get you so far – add your bright hat to that and it's just a disaster."

Ash shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter at this point while Brock looked at him sideways, "speaking of, where is your hat?"

Ash raised a hand to his head only to feel his hair, "oh – I didn't even notice, I guess it's somewhere in Victory Road. Probably fell of from one of the many falls and I just forgot about that, or it flew off while I was running for my life."

Brock nodded solemnly, "it's probably having a nice trip."

Ash tried to glare at Brock but found all he could do was grin, "that wasn't funny."

"Then why are you smiling?" Brock countered.

"Because I'm delirious," Ash said with a sigh and he lay back on the harsh ground, long having learnt to ignore the stones digging into his back. He laid a hand over his eyes and tried to rest for a little while.

"Ash," the tone in Brock's voice was a warning so he didn't immediately rise lest he startle whatever it was that Brock was trying to warn him about.

"Hmm?" He questioned hoping that Brock could read the inflection in his voice, however before they could go any further, Pikachu suddenly jumped off his masters chest and darted in front of the two.

"Pikachu!" Ash hissed and sat up, seeing the red eyes come out in the darkness made him panic as Brock groped to get the lighter started.

"Pikachu!" The mouse Pokémon was currently letting static fly from his cheeks as he stared down the large group of Defiled Raticate that were slowly advancing upon them from the darkness.

"Pikachu – No! Get back here!" Ash went to grab his Pokémon but was evaded as Pikachu dodged and sent a Thundershock towards one of the Raticate.

It fainted, making the others angry. They quickly launched their attack with Pikachu evading each attack and sending his own their way

"Pika Pi!"

Ash shook his head with despair while Brock was trying his best to stand and get to one of the balls on his belt. Making a split second decision after seeing a swipe that was too close for comfort Ash ran for the backpack.

"Ash what are you doing?" Brock hissed at him when he came over to the light.

Ash didn't answer, he just kept rummaging through the bag till he found what he wanted, he pulled out the Master Ball Gary had given him back at the Indigo Plateau.

Brock stared at it and then at him with shock on his face, "Ash...are you sure?"

Ash tightened his hand around the ball so hard that it trembles, "I'm not losing another one, I'm not."

Brock nodded, "I'll help – you will have to be behind him...and you will have to be careful not to hit one of the Raticate. I'll tell you when."

Ash nodded and slowly moved into position, Pikachu was still fighting off the Raticate deftly but Ash knew his Pokémon – his little buddy was tired and it was showing, determination alone couldn't help them now.

He watched careful, twitching every time a claw or a tooth came too close, eventually he realised that while the Raticate had thinned out significantly, more kept coming. They were being smart; they were wearing Pikachu down and going for the kill.

Ash quickly looked to Brock who nodded.

Ash counted to three and threw the Master Ball, it connected with Pikachu in midair from behind and the surprised sound Pikachu made as he was drawn into the ball was a sound that Ash knew he wouldn't forget.

The ball dropped, shook thrice and then glowed to lock shut.

Ash immediately emptied the contents of his stomach once the ball had locked itself and Pikachu inside. The Raticate were swarming the ball, trying to find their way inside but found that they couldn't, once recovered Ash made to get the Pokéball but stopped as a very loud, menacing sound echoed around them.

The Raticate immediately stopped and suddenly the glowing red eyes that had once been threatening were now looking terrified, they scattered quickly, leaving the Master Ball rocking in their wake.

Ash slowly made his way to pick up the ball; he bent down and hovered a hand over it, unwilling to pick it up.

"I'm sorry buddy, I'm so sorry – please, please forgive me."

"Ash..."

He looked up to see Brock waving a hand to beckon him over but not taking his eyes off of whatever was in front of him.

With fingers like jelly, Ash picked up the Master Ball and clipped it to his belt. Every step he took thereafter felt wrong, the sixth weight on his belt should never have been filled and yet here it was. He felt off balance.

During the scuffle with the Raticate Brock had stood and had worked his way around the wall, his hand brushed the side until it met a jagged sticky edge, he pulled his hand away to look at the substance on his hand and almost dropped the lighter.

It was blood.

He tentatively moved the lighter to the edge of the wall, jagged edges remained and what looked like nail marks, the blood was newish and Brock matched his handprint to the bloodied one of the wall.

He moved the lighter further past the wall and stopped at what he saw, it took him a good minute to find his voice again. When he did – it was to call Ash over as quietly and urgently as possible

When Ash stood beside him Brock silently showed him the handprint on the wall and blood on his hand, Ash met his eyes warily and then Brock nodded past the hole in the wall and pushed the lighter forward.

Bones and flesh littered the ground beyond the wall and Ash's heart lurched as he recognised the shredded and dirty remains of one of the Messengers uniforms from the Indigo Plateau. The stench was horrific, Ash was pretty sure it was coming from some of the half-eaten Raticate and Sandslash still lying around.

It was then he saw it, the claw – bigger than the last one he had come across, much bigger. Bloodied, dirty and yellow – dark scales that looked hard as steel covered the claw and it looked like it could take out the Indigo Plateau with one careless swipe.

Brock raised the lighter as high as he could, the obsidian black scales rose up into a solid, strong leg and disappeared into the darkness – neither of them tried to guess how big or how high the scales went or where it ended, instead Ash grabbed Brock by the arm and gently tugged him away from the open hole till they could no longer see it.

Breathing heavily with fear the two backed away and Ash took the lighter from Brock and flicked it off. They sat silently for a long minute, both trying to process what they had seen.

"Is it...a Pokémon?" Brock finally asked at length.

Ash just shook his head, "I don't know – but I think we've found exactly what it is we're meant to be looking for."

"You think?" Brock asked sarcastically, "Fuck, Ash – what are meant to do?"

"We need to get out – away from here for a start. There's no knowing what will happen if and when that...thing wakes up-"

"No, Ash I mean – how do we stop it?" Brock interrupted, "that...thing – is gigantic, I've never seen anything like it, it's bigger than any Pokémon we have ever seen before – even bigger than the legendaries – the Defiled Raticate ran away just because it let out a snore, the-" Brock abruptly paused, "oh my god...the other ones – the big ones, the big Defiled ones? The Onix?"

"Yeah? What about them?" Ash asked, wondering where Brock was going.

"They were never going to hurt us – ever, they didn't want us for themselves, they just wanted to lead us here, to...that." Brock gestured with a thumb behind him and then winced as his ribs twinged, "crap, I keep forgetting."

"Okay – say you're right; say they were leading us here," Ash continued Brock's train of thought, "what for though?"

Brock looked at him like he'd grown two head, "what for?" He spluttered, "did you not see the pile of bones in the corner?"

"Kind of hard to miss, thanks," Ash dished back, "but seriously – why? Something of that size? What could he...she... be needing help for? In any capacity? Unless it doesn't want to be known of or seen yet...but why – why does it want to hide?"

" _Excellent questions Ash Ketchum, maybe Arceus was not wrong about you after all."_

Both Brock and Ash froze as the deep hiss slithered into their ears from above and a haunting laughter echoed throughout the cave.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this has been a long time coming guys, sorry about that, but between work and everything else I really do have little time to write, also this is the beginning of where things start coming together, questions get answers and mysteries solved and I need to be coherent in bringing together as many of the little details as possible. Which is why again - the next chapter also may take as long but on the plus side - more answers! Yay!
> 
> Despite how long it took me, I did enjoy writing this chapter, I've had a vivid picture of Ash and Brock in this part of Victory Road for a long time, there is also a huge theme running through this chapter and through the story as a whole. I won't tell you what it is, because it's a pretty big spoiler, but it will be blatant in the next chapter.
> 
> Also...Pikachu? The Master Ball is mentioned earlier, I wonder if many of you thought that I was actually going to use it? I know some of you may be upset by it because Pikachu is not meant to be in a ball of any kind, it's what makes the little guy more adorable. It will be dealt with - I do plan on having the issue addressed, so you may not see Pikachu for the next 1-3 chapters, but he will be back, never fear! Pokemon will maybe, sort of? Start becoming more prevalent, I know I haven't mentioned many, I think Pikachu and Dragonite get the most mentions so far, but I haven't forgotten! Their part comes later and it will be a doozy! (If I can get it right!)
> 
> Misty - I know many of you have been wanting to see more of her and up till now she's come in for dribs and drabs, but she does have a large part to play - shown partly in this chapter with her interaction with Tracey. She is important and all the characters know it, she's not someone they can cast aside and keep out of this, so again, please a little more patience.
> 
> So, my plan is coming (slowly) to fruition and we are starting to really get into the dramatics and emotional pull of this story, tension built in this chapter - things are coming together and people are realizing exactly how big of a mess they are actually in.
> 
> I do hope you guys enjoyed this, if you have any questions, comments, concerns please let me know, I'll do my best to answer what I can - short of spoilers, and thanks so much for reading.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Brock confront and Ancient Evil and try to make their way out of Victory Road.

“Move!”

Ash grabbed a tight hold of Brock’s filthy shirt and tugged him aside as a tail swung above them crushing the wall they had been leaning against and sending debris all over the two men as they dodged out of the way.

Brock gasped in pain as Ash moved him to and fro haphazardly and tried to move out of the way of the falling rocks.

The laughter was haunting, deep and full of malice; Brock had heard the words ‘pure evil’ before, but up until now everything else that had been described as such seemed to pale in comparison.

“Ash! Please...Ash!”

Brock tried to stop his friend from tugging him along but found that Ash wouldn’t stop moving, “Ash please, we don’t know where we are going - I can’t, Ash – I can’t breathe, please!”

Abruptly Ash stopped making Brock almost fall into him, Ash’s hand was still clutching onto Brock’s shirt and Ash was breathing heavily, “Ash – I’m sorry. It just hurts okay; I’ll be fine shortly-”

“We don’t have shortly!” Ash hissed back at him, “I need to get you out of here, now.”

_“Just him? Ash Ketchum – you surprise me...with your hopelessness.”_

“Get out of my head!” Ash snarled viciously into the air as the laughter started again and Ash started to tug Brock along again.

“Ash – wait...Ash...STOP!” Brock yelled and pulled himself away from Ash’s strong grip, Ash rounded on him furiously and Brock met his gaze resolutely.

“It’s okay – I can hear him too.” Brock said squarely and to his surprise, Ash let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “Yeah I know you can hear him – you can hear what he wants you to hear.”

Brock furrowed his brow, “he’s speaking to you...alone?”

_“Your Strategos seems to be having a hard time grasping things...pity...”_

The menacing laughter echoed around the cavern followed by a harrowing silence that fell upon the cave, drops of water plopped to the floor and little pebbles crumbled from the walls in the wake of the Pokémon’s destruction.

“What is he saying?” Brock asked as Ash continued to drag him forward, “Ash – what is he saying!”

“He’s not saying anything!” Ash argued back – quickly losing patience as they came to another dead end.

“Fucks sake!” Ash slammed a palm onto the rock face in front of him and then turned around to continue the way they came.

“Then – Ash, for the love of god – STOP!” Brock sent a fist in Ash’s direction to which Ash dodged out of the way neatly and then turned an incredulous look upon Brock.

“Sorry,” Brock said shortly while clutching onto his ribs to try and numb the pain, “but we can’t just wander through this cave – with little light and nothing to protect us – not with the Defiled Ones-”

“They won’t come after us – he gave me his word.” Ash ran a hand through his hair and looked around while Brock tried to digest that information.

“He...gave you _his word_?” Brock asked with a slight hiss of disbelief in his tone

_“I don’t appreciate...my honour being put into question...Strategos!”_

Brock gasped as the face of the Pokémon came out of the shadows towards him, red-eyed and utterly terrifying. The craggy, scarred and beaten face looked ancient; his teeth yellow with age and his breath revolting. What was the most frightening however was the knowledge, the intelligence – the fact that Brock knew this Pokémon knew far more about anything to do with this world that almost anyone.

The head of the Pokémon was massive, it was all that he showed of himself, and he hid the rest of himself into the darkness, which he seemed to blend into like a second skin. He sniffed all around the area, taking in everything – jerking when he sniffed something of interest.

Ash took a couple of steps forward but found himself cut off as the huge tip of the Pokémon’s tail slammed down between Brock and Ash – cutting them off from one another. He backed off and tried to stop his body shivering involuntarily. “Yes,” Ash addressed Brock carefully but kept his eye on the Pokémon that was staring intently at Brock. “He gave me his word.”

Brock nodded to show that he had heard Ash speak but he also kept his eyes on the Pokémon in front of him who was sniffing around and turning his head at any abrupt sound.

“I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to offend,” Brock finally answered stiffly and the Pokémon turned to look at him and it was then that Brock realised and he held in his gasp before turning his head to mouth something at Ash who squinted to try and see through the darkness.

_“Of course you didn’t....”_

The laughter sent shudders through Brocks body and the Pokémon brought up a claw towards Brock and for such a large being its touch was gentle as it pushed Brock back towards the wall behind him, his back hit the wall lightly and the three fingered claw came to rest over him, the sharps tips edging into the rock face and the dark, scaly skin hovering over him – potentially ready to crush him easily where he stood.

Brock tried not to let the fact that one of the fingers on said claw was almost twice the size of him get to him and instead focused on trying to get some answers out of the beast.

“Do you have a name?” Brock asked, acutely aware of the horrible sound of his claw tips scratching into the rock face as easily as chalk on a blackboard.

The Pokémon hovered; its face closer and the intense stench of his breath made Brock gag slightly, _“yes...I have a name....not so simple as your own though...Brock Harrison.”_

Brock jerked slightly as the laughter came again, “how did you know that?” Brock asked warily, “can you read my mind –my thoughts?”

The Pokémon inhaled sharply and moved his claw away so quickly that Brock stumbled slightly; Ash waited a few seconds but then hurried over to his friend when the Pokémon retreated further into the darkness, removing itself and tail as a barrier.

_Then things would be too easy...Strategos...I only have that power when I am in the possession of a Mind Plate....They are not so easy to come across..._

Brock tucked that information away and grabbed Ash’s hand when he got close, he turned Ash’s hand so that it was palm up and slowly wrote out five letters.

B

L

I

N

D

Ash’s eyes widened and met Brock’s eyes sharply and Brock nodded to show that he was sure and then addressed the Pokémon again. “So if you had...this Mind Plate? You would be able to read our minds?”

_“Hmmm, you ask a lot of questions for so small a being...”_

Brock and Ash both stiffened as they could hear the warning in the Pokémon’s tone; obviously they were hitting a nerve they didn’t want to press on any further. His amusement and goodwill concerning them could only go so far.

“Again...my apologies,” Brock fought the urge to bow as he apologised, “it’s just...we have never come across...anything...like you before.” He struggled to find words that would hopefully not enrage the Pokémon, “to us...you are fascinating.”

_“Fascinating...?”_

Abruptly there was a push of the Pokémon’s thick tail behind them pushing their forward and entrapping them within the thick flesh, Brock and Ash crane their necks up to see the Pokémon’s glowing red eyes far above them and yellow teeth glinting occasionally.

_“Strategos indeed...however I should inform you that any more false honeyed words from you and my word will be erased...”_

Ash let out a biting laugh and glared at the Pokémon, “just like that? You talk to us about your honour being questioned and yet so easily your ‘word’ is ‘erased.’

 _“Hmmmm,”_ the Pokemon inhaled deeply and the chuckled darkly, _“just like your own existence – how easy would it be to wipe it out...”_

His tail squeezed around them and Ash could feel his bones ache while Brock let out a yell of pain. The chuckled continued as he dropped them from the slight height and the whipped his way back into the darkness.

Ash crawled his way over to Brock who was cringing in pain, crawled up into the foetal position. Ash hovered around him and moved his body so that he was crouching protectively over his friend. He placed a hand on Brock’s shoulder to let him know that he was close and then looked back into the darkness, “you still haven’t answered his question – what is your name?  Since you seem to know ours so well even thought we haven’t told you.”

_“But you have...Ash...since the moment you stepped into Victory Road...you have been telling me your name...and Clair and Tracey’s....Brock’s...Richard’s...rather quiet human. I must admit, I was interested to finally learn his...”_

There was no flicker of movement and Ash took the moment to quickly check over Brock who was breathing slowly, trying to calm himself down from the shock of the pain when his back connected with the ground.

“So, you’ve been watching us – ever since we arrived in Victory Road?”

_“Is that what this place is called?...How apposite...”_

Biting his lip hard to stop himself from lashing out any further, Ash inhaled deeply as well to try and calm himself down. “Why are you here?” He asked bluntly.

_“I should have thought it would have been obvious...I like the dark...it’s soothing..._

Ash let out a hiss of frustration and he knew from the echoing, spiteful laughter that followed that it had been heard.

“Why me then? What do you want with me?”

_“It’s not really you that I am interested in...Ash Ketchum...more...two things you happen to possess that I want.”_

Ash furrowed his brow as there came movement from the darkness in front of him and he could barely make out the shadow of the beastly Pokémon as he moved around.

_“One...you are already aware of...the other...belongs to me and I want it back...”_

Ash didn’t falter as Brock nudged him gently to ask him what the first was, “and what’s the other one?” Ash asked and then scrunched his forehead as the Pokémon put images into his head, once finished, Ash let out a gasp and almost collapsed over Brock but managed to brace himself on his knees and palms as the invasion slowly faded away.

“The...orb?” Ash gasped out, remembering the small, glassy sphere Brock had found after nearly being drowned back in the chasm. “That thing is yours?”

_“Of course...and I want it back.”_

Ash hesitated briefly and looked to Brock who shook his head, Ash lifted his head slightly to try and make out the Pokémon, hoping it would believe him if he managed to look him in the eye.

_“I know you don’t have it...but I know exactly where it is...and I need you to get it for me...do you understand?”_

Ash considered his words carefully, “and the first thing...is to make sure I get this orb and bring it back to you?”

_“Yes...”_

Ash smirked to himself and silently called bull. There was so much more at play here and Ash knew that this Pokémon knew that he knew that.

“What’s so important about this orb? Why would a being such as yourself go to so much trouble to get it back? What does it do?” Ash asked, now curious. He placed his hands gently on Brock’s shoulders to keep him down as he was slowly calming down and the pain was lessening.

_“It is not for to question what is does...Ash Ketchum...you only need to get it back for me, that is your only purpose...”_

This time, Ash didn’t heed the warning tone.

“And what if I don’t want to?”

The hit of images flashing in mind was intense, pictures of Tracey, Clair and Brock strewn around Victory Road, their eyes – glassy from their death staring and him and haunting him. Their blood dripping from his hands, their bones sticking out of their skin, watching thousands of Raticate tear into their flesh without abandon.

Ash refused to buckle again, “stop it!” He roared out. His voice echoed in the caves and there was silence as the throb in his head vanished and the images in his head faded to flickers and then to nothing.

Nothing was said for a good long moment as the implications of those pictures were taken in.

_“Do you understand...Ash Ketchum?”_

Ash looked at Brock who looked resigned and slumped on the ground, knowing full well that Ash had fully come to the end of his patience.

Ash grinned and shook his friends shoulder, “I fully understand – that you need me.”

The laughter that came was incredulous, full of disbelief that such a small being could be so arrogant.

“If you wanted to hurt me you would have done so by now, which either means you can’t or you won’t for whatever reason – which means you need me. You can’t hurt Brock because otherwise I will refuse to help you and there is no one else in here – who else is going to go and get this precious orb for you?”

There came a rumbling of breath from beyond the darkness, _“there are always others Ash Ketchum...always, you are not so important as you may think.”_

“Really? So you haven’t waited all this time for me?” Ash continued on, slowing standing over Brock who made to sit up slowly, “you mentioned Arceus before, that he was right about me. Right about what?”

There was a beat before Brock let out an agonising scream of pain and Ash jumped backwards seeing the heavy tail slither back into the darkness , Brock it seemed had passed out from the pain and Ash bent down to see Brock’s ankle twisted and shards of bones sticking out.

Making sure that his friend was still breathing and as comfortable as possible despite the no doubt broken ribs and ankle, Ash then stood up and addressed the darkness.

“I said I understood!” He said angrily, “we had a deal – I would let you...” Ash swallowed his distaste, “let you form this ‘blood pact’ with me and you wouldn’t harm Brock. A deal is a deal!”

The laughter was patronising and Ash did his best not to back away as the Pokémon’s face came out of the darkness towards him, _“no...I said I wouldn’t kill him...there is a difference between a shattered ankle and death....not that your Strategos would understand at this moment.”_

Ash met the glowing red eyes of the creature and he could see what Brock meant by him being blind, the eyes were cloudy and he seemed to wince in the light, like he couldn’t handle it as well as the darkness.

Ash’s eyes widened as he connected the dots, dots that Brock no doubt had already put in place and connected three times over but couldn’t tell him. Swallowing his anger and letting his mind go on haywire to try and figure out a way out of this mess, Ash bandaged up Brock’s damaged foot as best he could with was he had, it ended up with him stripping off his hooded jacket and t-shirt and using the T-shirt as a make-shift bandage.

_“It’s...amusing...how much effort you will go to save this one human...Ash Ketchum...he is useless to you now...I can assure you his death will be painless should you leave him in my care...”_

Ash snorted to himself, “’care’ – right, sure. You have your honour and I have mine, I made a promise to his brother that I would bring him back to him. Alive. I intend to do that.”

_“I see...it seems our mutual ‘honour’ is quite alike...”_

Ash pulled the makeshift bandage a bit tighter than he probably should have and glared fruitlessly up to the beasts face, “I am nothing like you,” he muttered viciously, “I don’t make a deal with someone and then change the rules slightly as I see fit,” Ash gestured to the sleeping place of the Pokémon, “I don’t rip humans and Pokémon apart for sport, I don’t turn...whatever this is into a game-”

_“A GAME?!”_

The beast shouted so loud that Ash lost his balance and fell backwards as he finished bandaging Brock’s ankle, the head of the beast inched forward and the glowing red eyes were small slivers in his face.

_“I’m playing a game...Am I? Ash Ketchum...well how about you join in then? How about we imagine the look on a certain someone’s face when they find what you have done to your Strategos shall we? What will happen when they see him in critical condition...blood loss...broken bones...punctured lungs...internal damage...physical and mental...what will happen? The blame will happen and it will fall where it should...on you!”_

“My fault?” Ash asked, anger filling his veins, “if the blame should fall to anyone it should be to you!” Ash stood up and placed himself over Brock’s body protectively as he continued shouting up at the creature, “you have killed innocent people and hurt others,” he gestured to Brock, “you have turned Pokémon insane! All for what? What is it that you want? What could have happened to you, what could have _anyone_ ever done to you to make you do this? _What do you want!?”_

Ash knew he was no longer walking a fine line, he was past it and no doubt these could be his last moments, he was beyond exhausted, tired, hungry and aching for some form of sunlight and sick of games, riddles and tricks. He wanted answers that this Pokémon had refused to give him, and he was at the end of his tether all together.

_What do I want…Ash Ketchum…I want my vengeance and you will help me get it, one way or another._

Ash couldn’t help the involuntary shiver at the tone of voice the Pokemon used, dark, deadly and full of promise. The monster withdrew from the light and back into the darkness silently and Ash waited a few moments before a loud boom echoed through the hall they were in. Ash covered Brock’s body with his own from the falling stones and tried to see through the falling pebbles and dust at what had happened.

_“Through there – use that as your passage to get back to the upper levels of this…Victory Road…get back to your entrance…and remember Ash Ketchum…remembered what I showed you should you fail me…”_

The Pokémon had created a large tunnel for him to walk through and it made Ash think of the Chasm that he had probably created and he wondered how far down into the depth of Victory Road they were. He didn’t know how long he would be walking, nor who he would come across, but it was probably the easiest way out and while he may have liked having it, it was Brock who needed it.

Ash looked down at his friend, thankfully he was still breathing but he looked like he was on his last legs and Ash didn’t blame him – only himself, like the Pokémon had pointed out, not that he was going to broadcast it. But come hell or high water, he would get Brock out, alive. He had made a promise, one he intended to keep – unlike the one he had made to the Pokémon.

Inhaling deeply Ash moved in front of his passed out friend and grabbed his arms to loosely place them around his neck, staggering to his feet while carrying Brock piggy-back style, Ash began to walk down the dark tunnel and hopefully towards the entrance to Victory Road.

* * *

 

The candle flickered as someone opened the door behind him, Lance inhaled deeply, wishing that people would just leave him alone, even just for an hour would have been enough at this point.

Another candle came up to rest beside the one he had lit and Lance, despite wanting to be alone, couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Nothing was said as the two stood there and for just a moment, Lance enjoyed the silence, enjoyed it with someone else beside him.

“Jasmine,” Lance spoke her name as she turned to leave, “don’t feel like you need to leave, she may have been my Cousin, but she was a friend of yours – and you deserve to mourn her as much as anyone else.”

She hesitated briefly before coming back to stand beside him. “Thank you, Lance.” She smiled awkwardly up at him and they fell into silence again. He could feel that she wanted to say something but was holding back – no doubt out of politeness.

He grinned slightly, “I’m sorry about what happened at Blackthorn, I should explain-”

“Lance,” Jasmine interrupted, “Clair has just passed away, I think we can leave all those explanations for another time.” She spoke firmly and there was only a slight stutter in her voice at the beginning when she mentioned Clair’s passing.

Lance nodded, “we could – but there may be a chance that I never get to explain things.” Jasmine turned to look at him, confusion covering her features. Lance gestured to the lit candles, “one never knows when their time is up, I never expected Clair to go before me and with what’s going on, who knows when anyone may die.”

Jasmine looked appalled and it was all Lance could do not to laugh at her face, “how could you say something like that?” She asked, “Your Cousin has just died and here you are already planning your own funeral!”

Lance snorted lightly, “I’m not planning my funeral Jasmine, I just…didn’t expect…this.”

And he hadn’t, Clair’s brain haemorrhage had completely shut down her body, and watching her convulse and then hearing that long, continuous drone of a beep signalling that her heart had stopped. It had been something that had stopped him in his tracks. The Doctor’s had guessed that alone with her haemorrhage that she had also had a stroke or heart attack, the pressure on her body would have been enormous and she hadn’t been able to withstand it.

Her death had set a dark cloud over the Indigo Plateau, the hope that had once been there was slowly fading with each day that Brock and Ash didn’t make it out of Victory Road. Clair hadn’t been particularly well-liked amongst many of the trainers and other region Gym Leaders, but she had been respected as a potential Dragon Master nonetheless, which made her death that shocking to everyone in the Plateau.

Tracy was understandably upset at Clair’s passing and Misty had taken it upon herself to be his carer in the interim, shooing Lance and anyone else away that wanted to know what happened, saying that “he wasn’t ready.” Lance had wondered how much she knew, what Tracy had or hadn’t told her, what the two of the may have been keeping a secret, however two evenings ago, after Clair had passed, he had come across Misty in the Kitchen’s and cornered her into telling him what she knew. If he hadn’t caught the frustration and dark circles under her eyes he probably would have pressed her further, but she was caught in the same boat as him, waiting and wondering for Ash and Brock to return.

They had come to an understanding after that, they still weren’t friends but neither was she his enemy anymore and quite frankly what she had done to Ash and why was now far down on his list of things to figure out.

While Misty was taking care of Tracy along with help from Gary and occasionally Professor Oak, Cynthia was usually with Cyrus and trying to keep him as comfortable as possible. Agatha and Professor Oak were working on trying to translate the Tablet along with some help from Cynthia’s Grandparents and other Elders that had volunteered.

Despite everyone keeping busy and trying to help in any way they could, Lance couldn’t help but feel lost. The next Summit was planned for the end of next week and until then all that was left was to either try and fruitlessly search for any information or nurse the invalid. Red had provided them with a better timeline than they had once had and he had described in detail what they had seen, coining the term “The Defiled One’s” which had been used since.

His arrival had caused quite a stir, his likeness to Ash was uncanny and word had got around quickly that he was not Ash, but he was the Champion’s long-lost Father. Many had wanted to speak to him and many had whispered and glanced in Lance’s direction, with the arrival of Red Ketchum it meant that Lance was no longer Champion of Kanto, only Johto, which technically gave Red, considering this calamity was based in Kanto, more of a standing than Lance.

It was more annoying than anything, almost like people expected him to throw a hissy fit and stamp his feet and demand that he still be ‘in charge.’ Truth be told, Lance hadn’t cared about his title for Kanto, in his mind he had only been holding it until Ash would be taking it from him, and it annoyed him that now he wouldn’t be – he wouldn’t be having that rematch with his old friend, instead Ash would be reaching that title, the one he really wanted, through beating someone else.

He was knocked out of his thoughts by Jasmine lightly placing a hand on his forearm, “none of us expected this…but you have to know that we are all thinking of you and are sorry for your loss.”

“Right, I wonder though if many of them are as genuine as you regarding Clair or if they are just happy I am no longer the Champion of Kanto.”

Jasmine pursed her lips and looked up at him unhappily, “your sarcastic tone notwithstanding, I’m pretty sure people are more upset about Clair and not really thinking about your other, less important personal issues.”

Lance laughed loudly and grinned down at her, “thank god – I was wondering where that sass had gone, here I was thinking I had lost it completely to this sympathetic little doll.”

Jasmine glared up at him and opened her mouth to say something but found that his cheeky, boyish grin – the one she hadn’t seen in a while, was winning her over. “Don’t do that.” She said, turning away and trying to hide a smile of her own.

“Don’t do what?” He said, still grinning as he had seen her own smile burgeoning.

“Don’t change the subject.” She said seriously, coming out of the little spell he had placed her under. “People look to you to lead, people need to see you. Lance you can’t stay in this room forever and watch a candle flicker and think ‘what-if’.” She stared at his profile while she kept talking, “Falkner agrees with me and we think-”

“I don’t care what _Falkner_ thinks.” Lance interrupted rather harshly and pulled himself away, cursing himself for his stupidity, forgetting that despite the fact that he had her to himself now, ultimately she was going to be married to Falkner.

“I don’t what anyone thinks,” he covered himself quickly. “All I wanted was a moment, an hour to myself. An hour where I could just think without interruptions, is that too much to ask?”

She looked hurt and it was gut wrenching, she slowly pulled her hand away from him and he felt his arm tingle as her fingers dropped away from his flesh, he wished to take her into his arms and kiss her the way he wanted, to let her comfort him, to let her in and speak to her about everything. But she wasn’t his partner, she was someone else’s and he had to remember that.

“We’re meeting in one of the rooms downstairs later on this evening, Agatha has given permission for us to hold some kind of a wake for Clair, we would all like to see you there.”

Her gentle voice cut through him and as she left he fought the urge to say something. “Jasmine – thanks.” He said stiltedly over his shoulder, she let out a sigh and nodded gently over her own shoulder before continuing to the door.

Lance clenched his fists and opened his mouth to speak again, not wanting to leave it like this but he was interrupted by the door in front of Jasmine bursting open and she only just managed to jump out of the way as Misty barged in, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Misty?” Jasmine asked in surprise and after recovering from her surprise went to comfort the young woman, “are you alright?”

Misty swallowed deeply and panted, she had obviously run from wherever she had been and for a moment Lance thought the worse. “Is it Tracy?” He asked and Jasmine let out a gasp and turned to look at Misty for confirmation.

She shook her head and smiled beautifully, “it’s Ash and Brock – they’ve pressed the button!”

* * *

 

Ash staggered up the slight hill in the tunnel, it was warm and sweat was pouring from his forehead, with his filthy, knotty hair covering his eyes. He panted slightly as he stopped for a quick break and hitched up Brock higher. He hadn’t stirred while Ash had begun his trek through the created tunnel.

He hadn’t seen hide or hair of any of the Defiled Ones since he had started his walk, on that end the Pokémon was keeping his word, it was surprising and Ash wondered how long that little gift would last. He knew that he couldn’t keep up what he was doing, not while he was carrying Brock, they had little water and they were working on a lack of sleep, food and hydration.

It was risky, but he couldn’t not bring out help for this. Bayleef was still fresh in his mind and the thought of losing another of his precious Pokémon was almost more than he could bear, but then again, dying in Victory Road and having his Pokémon, Brock and Brock’s Pokémon all devoured was also not an option.

Deciding on the lesser of two evils, Ash tapped a Pokeball and hoped to god that he was awake. Luck was on his side and the smiling face of his Snorlax greeted him followed by a groan when Snorlax noticed Brock.

“Hey bud,” Ash smiled “would you mind giving me a hand, be careful he’s in a lot of pain.” Snorlax gently pried Brock from Ash’s back and carried him in his arms while Ash trudged on behind him. Ash noticed that Snorlax, while making loud footsteps, remained quiet and alert. Ash didn’t blame him, nor did he, considering the circumstances, find it strange. There was a negative quality to the air in Victory Road now. Things didn’t seem right, even more so now than it had when they first entered, and if Ash could feel it then he could only imagine what Snorlax would be feeling.

They kept walking for another half hour before Ash called out to Snorlax to stop and took out a bit of water, he had a sip and offered some to Snorlax who shook his head and instead lowered Brock down so that Ash could try and feed him the water, who was still passed out – but from what Ash could see in the darkness, he was regaining a little bit of colour – a good sign.

_“Keep going…Ash Ketchum…keep going.”_

Ash let out a snarl of frustration to the air and Snorlax groaned despairingly as that voice echoed through the tunnel. “It’s alright Snorlax, you’re alright. We’ll be fine,” Ash spoke reassuringly, wishing he felt as reassured as he was making it out to be.

Snorlax let out another groan as Ash continued forward through the tunnel. “It shouldn’t be too far now, soon we’ll be – oof!” Ash tripped lightly over a small boulder beneath his feet that he couldn’t see and rightened himself, “I’m okay – Snorlax, I’m alright.” He calmed his fussing Pokémon who had rushed over to his aid.

Having stopped Ash noticed that he was nearing the end of the tunnel and it was getting lighter, he could hear the dripping of water again and feel air coming towards him. “C’mon Snorlax, we’re getting closer!”

It took another 15 minutes before they reached the end of the tunnel and entered a rather familiar area, Ash couldn’t help but let out a grin – he knew exactly where they were. He wondered if this was how Dawn felt when she got to the top of the stairs they climbed all those weeks ago.

“Well it’s about time...” came a weak groan and Ash turned to see Brock blearily open his eyes briefly before closing them again and wincing, “Brock!” Ash clambered over quickly and Snorlax sat down gently to bring Brock to a closer level.

“No shouting please,” Brock said, still scrunching up his face due to the pain and Ash let out a shaky laugh, “sorry mate, how are you doing – obvious aside?”

Brock threw up a thumbs up and Ash smiled, “think you could handle some water?” Brock nodded gently and Ash removed the bag from his shoulders and set it down to rummage for the water bottle, there wasn’t a lot of anything left in the backpack and not a lot of water left either, his hand brushed up against a small piece of plastic briefly, frowning Ash grasped it and pulled it out of his backpack.

His widened at the buzzer he remember retrieving from Lance, he held it up in his palm so that Brock could see it. Brock looked at it blankly and then grinned, Ash smiled and pressed it – not knowing it would work or not but they could do with some help regardless.

_“Big....mistake....KETCHUM!”_

Ash clenched his fingers shut around the plastic as the interior of the Victory Road shook around them from the Pokémon’s anger. Ash settled himself while the ground beneath him rocked and Snorlax rolled with the movement while he was sitting down and let out a groan of despair.

“It doesn’t do anything!” Ash insisted on a shout, “It just lets those at the Indigo Plateau know we’re coming back!”

The shaking got more intense and Ash looked back towards the tunnel hearing hisses and snarls along with pounding feet and decided it was time to start moving, “Snorlax! Let’s go!”

Pushing Snorlax to move faster Ash led him through the rocky tunnel of Victory Road, neatly evading falling rocks, he looked back over his shoulder and gasped at the Defiled Ones coming up behind them, “Snorlax, let’s go! Let’s go!”

The Pokémon groaned a little more and picked up his pace, Ash couldn’t tell if Brock had passed out again or was just not saying anything while he jostled about in Snorlax’s arms while they ran towards the entrance they so craved.

A Raticate drew up next to him, teeth bloody from a new meal by the looks of it and swiped at him, with a growl Ash kicked out at the monster and it fell back, knocking a few others with it. Ash smiled as he kept running but that smile fell as he came up to what looked like another part of the chasm – however this time it was blocking his exit.

With no time to think, Ash took a flying leap and pushed himself off the edge of the fall and landed ungracefully on the other side. He turned around to see Snorlax beating off the Defiled Ones as more and more seemed to arrive.

“Snorlax – use Hyper Beam!”

The Pokémon adjusted Brock in his arms and built up to the large attack and let the beam blast through many of the Defiled Ones who seemed to slow up immensely once the attack was over.

“C’mon buddy – rollout over this hole, we’re so close!” Ash knew the desperation in his tone wouldn’t be comforting but large chunks of Victory Road were falling all around them and they were only lucky they hadn’t been hit yet.

Snorlax, having made the time to be able to roll himself over the gaping chasm in front of him landed in front of Ash who quickly tried to get him moving again.

“Ash...”

“Brock – don’t worry about it okay,” Ash spoke hurriedly trying to get Snorlax moving.

“I need to tell you something.”

“It can wait.” Ash spoke firmly, “you need to save your strength alright?”

_“You think you can run away...FROM ME!?”_

Ash could feel the demon eyes on him from all angles, “I told you!” Ash shouted into nothing waving his arms to force his point, “It’s just an alert letting everyone know I’m coming back!”

Brock gripped one of the flailing arms and pulled Ash over to him, “Ash you need to hear this, I might not be-”

“No!” Ash shouted, “I made a promise to Forrest, your Brother – remember him? I’m getting you out of here alive and you are going to be fine. No last words – not yet.” He got behind Snorlax and started pushing his legs to get him moving

“Misty was pregnant.”

Ash stopped entirely and tripped over his own feet as the words sunk in, “what?” He asked almost shrill, “she was...pregnant? We have a baby? YOU’RE TELLING ME THIS NOW?” Ash shouted looking around at the collapsing Victory Road.

Brock let out a chuckle, “better late than never.”

“That is not funny,” Ash came around to the front of Snorlax while growling, “how long have you known?”

Brock coughed a little bit, “I guessed it a while ago, but only got confirmation just before we left. I figured...you probably wouldn’t want to dwell on it while were in here, I was going to tell you when we got out...but since I might not be making the return journey...”

There came a loud growl from behind and Ash turned to see the Beast crawling its way out of the chasm, each footstep reverberating and making the tunnel shake. Its eyes gleamed maliciously and its evil smile pronounced itself as its tail came up to take a swipe at the rock face above them.

“Snorlax!” Ash cried as the Pokémon moved into action and swept Brock and Ash out of the way and moved to block the falling rocks.

“Snorlax, c’mon – don’t shake your head at me!”

Snorlax turned his back on his Master – not unusual from the Pokémon, but normally it was due to him sleeping and not out of wilful defiance.

Ash moved a hand to his belt and stopped when he felt the cracks in each of the balls at his belt, he got to Snorlax’s ball and he crushed his hand around the broken ball, willing the tears not to fall. The Pokémon inside were safe and once the balls were fixed they could be let out...however the Pokémon outside could not be recalled.

“Snorlax, I’m not kidding around – we are going...NOW!”

Snorlax let out a groan and shook off Ash trying to pull him away, all the while battering away the falling rocks around them.

“No –NO, I will not lose another one,” Ash said ferociously and coming back as Snorlax batted him away again. He batted his fists against Snorlax’s soft middle – it was ineffectual and after four strokes Ash rested himself against Snorlax and started to cry as he knew.

Snorlax’s fleshy palm came down to rest gently on his head and then slowly he pulled his Master away, Ash looked up to his long-time friend and tried his best to smile at the merry face – the face that was trying to tell him it was okay, that he wanted to do this for him even though going up against the ancient Pokémon was not going to end in his favour.

Snorlax pushed him gently away and then turned around to face the Pokémon who had been waiting with a dark, gleeful anticipation.

_“A Pokémon Master...Ash Ketchum? When you cannot even control your own slaves and one has already died with a further to follow soon....”_

The Pokémon’s dark laughter was cut off by Snorlax sending another Hyper Beam towards the Ancient One’s face and cutting him off.

Ash took one last look at Snorlax and then picked up Brock – who had again passed out when Snorlax had thrown him at Ash when the rocks above them had been falling – and did his best to get to the exit as quickly as possible.

He blocked out the sounds of the Pokémon behind him and ignored the Beast trying to toy with his head, his only thought was to get to the door, get to the exit. He stumbled a bit, could barely see through the haze of tears streaming down his face.

The slab covering the entrance had cracked during the onslaught brought forth by the Ancient One, so much so that Ash was able to squeeze him and Brock through and outside of Victory Road.

Ash carried Brock and himself a little ways away from the entrance and dropped to his knees into the grass; he laid Brock down gently and checked he was still breathing before pushing himself away and laying down himself.

He felt numb, wrong...like he had failed. The sun was burning on his skin, the harsh sunlight felt wrong to his eyes and the tears sitting on his cheeks itched. Bayleef was gone...she would never come begging for a hug again...she would never see what he was seeing, the sunlight she loved, the nature she adored. She was dead, buried beneath rock and rubble in Victory Road, all because she was trying to help.

And Snorlax...his big, lovable goofball who came through even in the direst of circumstances...but not this time.

Ash would never see either of them again.

The tears had started up again, as did the anger – the anger at everything, everyone, resentment towards the league, towards the Elite Four, Lance, ‘Red’, Professor Oak...he curled into himself and ended up on his hands and knees and let out a guttural roar full of rage, frustration, grief and complete hopelessness. 

His fists clutched the grass he should have been happy to feel and smell, his eyes were shut against the sunlight he had been missing for what he assumed was three weeks, he felt dirty and contaminated – he should have gone with them, he should have died with his Pokémon – he shouldn’t have let them die.

He felt fingers gently graze his hand and Ash looked up slightly to see Brock, awake from Ash’s scream no doubt and his arm outstretched, trying to connect their hands. Brock also had tears falling down his face, unable, but trying nonetheless to understand a shred of what Ash would have been feeling.

Ash moved his hand and tightly grasped Brock’s with his own and together they laid there for a few moments. 

“Looks like the button worked,” Brock said after a while, his voice was croaky and dry from lack of use, dust and dehydration. Ash hummed and turned over to look and he could shadows in the distance, as they drew closed he could see a flash of red and he couldn’t help but sigh, bitter relief coming over him.

He looked back over to Victory Road, trying to remember the first time he ever walked through it and wondered that if back then, if he knew what he did now, if he would even step one foot into it.

A flicker of purple caught his eye and he slowly raised himself up to see what it was, in growing horror he realised what it was.

“Ash...that’s the biggest Shadow Ball I’ve ever seen....” Brock croaked out alarmed from his place in the grass.

The purple orb was being created out of nothing above Victory Road and Ash knew who was creating it, it was getting bigger and bigger with no way of stopping it. Panic flooding him, Ash started forward, running towards the flying Pokémon heading towards him, “move – Lance! You have to get away!”

He was flailing his arms manically, trying desperately to catch their attention. The big smile that was on Lance’s face dropped immediately when he got close enough to see what Ash was doing, he turned around to where Ash was gesturing and his heart dropped to his stomach as he saw the Shadow Ball slowly getting bigger every second. “What the hell is that?” Lance shouted to no one in particular.

“MOVE!” Ash yelled out desperately, looking around for anything that could possible help and that’s when he saw it, the Defiled Raticate sitting by itself outside the entrance to Victory Road.

It seemed to be in pain – no doubt from the sunlight, but that was how the Ancient One was doing it, using the Defiled One’s as its eyes. With no thought as to what he would do, only rage filling his veins, Ash started off towards it.

“Ash? ASH WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Lance yelled as all he could see was Ash running back towards the entrance to Victory Road.

“Go and get Brock, I’ll get Ash” Lance gestured to the flyers behind him, “let’s go Dragonite.” Lance swooped forward on his Dragonite, trying to get Ash’s attention as he drew close, “Ash! Stop – what are you doing?”

“The Raticate – there! You need to knock it out – quickly!”

Lance looked ahead and squinted, finally he noticed the shrivelled, decaying Pokémon that seemed to wither in the sunlight, “right – Dragonite!”

His Dragonite zoomed forward and sent out an electrical attack that hit its target straight on and knocked out the Raticate.

The Dragonite u-turned and landed softly in front of Ash who was slowly coming to a halt, Lance hopped off Dragonite and ran towards his friend who collapsed bonelessly in front of him, “whoa – okay Ash, I got you, I got you.”

“The Raticate?” Ash asked as Lance hefted up his friend.

“Fine – we got it. Fuck, Ash...you look like hell.”

“MASTER LANCE!”

Ash and Lance looked up from the hoarse cry to see the gigantic Shadow Ball hurtle full speed and crash into the right corner of the Indigo Plateau, completely decimating the terracotta walls, sending debris everywhere and ripping through the walls of the stronghold like they were cotton wool.

Smoke immediately erupted form the corner of the building and flames began to lick up the walls and all Ash could hear was the devastating evil laughter echoing in his head.

_Too late...Ash Ketchum...too late._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know this chapter took way longer than I planned...but I mean...do you blame me? Big reveals in this chapter, interesting new developments and completely devastating events.
> 
> This was the hardest chapter for me to write, this is the chapter that pretty much started this story, so for me, trying to do it justice from my head to paper/internet was so difficult. Trying to get the boys out of Victory Road believably was so much more difficult than getting them in, I wanted danger, I wanted you guys to feel worried every step of the way, like some may not make it...etc.
> 
> Which obviously some won’t – especially now that the Indigo Plateau was attacked – there will be deaths there as well, you will find out whom in the next chapter.   
> Clair has passed on, that was not planned from the beginning but at the same time, her death sets the tone for the rest of this fic, there will be more people passing – again some more detailed and possibly brutal than others, some ‘offscreen.’  
> Many of you mentioned Pikachu and the Master Ball – there was a reason why I put him in the Master Ball, one being that I believed in those kind of circumstances that Pikachu would do what Snorlax just did and refuse to go into his, to my knowledge – whenever I’ve played the games on my DS, etc. A Master Ball has never been rejected – and I needed that certainty, especially for Pikachu because many of said you would hunt me down if anything happened to him. 
> 
> I mentioned the Master Ball and Professor Oak saying it was for Pikachu a few chapters back, chapter 10 I believe? 
> 
> First look at ‘who’ and/or ‘what is dwelling beneath Victory Road, I find him rather terrifying personally, whip-smart, lethal and unapologetic. Wanting vengeance too...never a good combination. The pieces are coming together slowly but surely and now we head into the next arc. 
> 
> This next chapter, again will probably be emotionally draining everyone (?) is back in the one place and we will have reactions to everything that has gone on while they’ve been apart – I’m also on holiday for pretty much all of March (yay!) so I don’t have an ETA at the moment, but i’ll do my best to get it out as soon as possible. 
> 
> Again – feel free to send me PM’s if you have any questions or comments, I’m pretty good and answering without giving away too much. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think – and again, I am very, terribly sorry for the wait!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash wakes up.

The drone of the beeping was what woke him in the end. Ash knew by that sound alone he was in the medical area of the Indigo Plateau.

What was  _left_  of the Indigo Plateau, he corrected himself.

The room was dull, the walls were white, everything looked sterile, obviously it had been a while since anyone had been in to check on him, which meant that he was doing fine. Ash had no doubt that everyone would have more important things to worry about.

He shut his eyes briefly and flashed back to the sounds of the Shadow Ball roaring into the Indigo Plateau. The snapping, stretching and crumbling of the fortress, the terracotta tumbling to the ground piece by broken piece, the colour blackening as the fire curled its way around the stone and wood.

The screams of fear, confusion, panic, the guttural wrench of someone's throat as they found a loved one, a friend, a family member, a Pokémon...

And that insidious laughter that followed him until he blacked out.

Ash opened his eyes again and took a moment before slowly moving different parts of his body, his muscles were stiff and slightly painful – but nothing out of the ordinary; No sharp kind of pain that told him he had torn, dislocated or broken anything.

He had been the lucky one, he supposed, trying not to let the bitterness of that thought creep down and soak his heart in its poison.

He looked at his wrists and arms and found that he had a few IV's inserted into him, he guessed that it was somehow linked to his exhaustion, he didn't know how long he had been sleeping for – maybe they had put him into an induced coma? He couldn't remember anything past the glaring image of the Indigo Plateau just being ripped apart and flying over it with Lance holding on to him to make sure he didn't fall from his Dragonite's back.

He clenched his fists experimentally and tried to sit up only to find himself shortly out of breath, panting and tired. He let out a growl of frustration to the room and willed the tears that had been building since he had woke not to fall.

He concentrated on slow breathing for a bit to calm himself down and tried to figure out what the next plan of action was considering all the information.

There was a...Legendary?...Pokémon buried deep within Victory Road.

Name: Unknown

Type: Unknown, correction, based on move set will suggest Dark, Poison, Normal, Ghost, Dragon, Psychic or a combination.

Weight: Very heavy

Height: Massive

Move Set: Hyper Beam, Shadow Ball...

Motive: Vengeance...? Against Arceus? Sibling rivalry?

Wants: Orb (Name unknown, status unknown, use unknown) Is a clear glass sphere with purple smoke or liquid moving through it.

Strengths: Very intelligent, very strong, very old, immense knowledge, can read minds when in possession of a mind plate, assume that other plates give different advantages. Exceptional hearing and sense of smell, can control other Pokémon...through fear? Or do they recognise him as an 'Original Legendary?'

Weaknesses: Blind, light, cannot see without the use of other eyes, evidenced by Raticate in and outside of Victory Road – also the dead Pokémon found and brought back to the Indigo Plateau and examined. Potential arrogance due to immense perceived intelligence and quick to anger...needs blood pact...

Ash stopped and he could feel his throat tighten briefly as he remembered the conversation he and Brock had when they stumbled across the Pokémon beneath Victory Road. The false promise of protection in exchange for two things, the caressing voice, the control it had, the control it made him lose.

It was frightening how quickly he had agreed to form the blood pact. Even with Brock as injured as he was, Ash had found himself saying yes before having enough time to think it over. He couldn't even remember saying the words properly; it was as if someone had made up his mind for him.

Ash shook his head briefly, trying to figure the missing parts in his memory. He wanted to chalk it up to a lack of nourishment for the past...however long he was in Victory Road, but he knew that there was something else bigger at play.

He heard the voices down the corridor, he could pinpoint all of them, Agatha and Lance were first – bickering between themselves with Cynthia behind them, trying and failing to knock sense into them. Professor Oak and Gary were bringing up the rear. Cynthia stopped at the door next to his, said something he couldn't hear and walked in. Ash furrowed his brow and wondered who could have been in the room next to him.

Gary and Professor Oak walked on which meant Ash was getting Agatha and Lance to check on him, the door opened and Ash could make out what was said, "You let us know if there is any change?"

"Will do," Lance said as he and Agatha came into the room; Lance stopped short when he saw Ash was awake and Agatha bumped into his back, pushing him forward lightly.

"Honestly Lance, I'm short – not thin!" Agatha said crossly and moved around the Dragon Master as best she could to see what had stopped Lance in his tracks.

"You're awake." Was all she said.

Ash nodded and gestured to the door, "Don't tell anyone just yet." His voice was only a croak but Lance nodded gravely and quickly shut the door behind him.

Agatha gingerly made her way towards him, she was limping which made Ash narrow his eyes at her as she approached, she sat in the chair next to the bed, "I am fine, just a sprained ankle. I got caught in some falling plaster."

"What about everyone else?"

There was silence for a good minute, Ash wasn't looking at Lance or Agatha but he knew they were looking at each other, trying to figure out the best way to break whatever terrible news they had to him.

"Your Mother is fine – she was nowhere near the accident when it happened."

"Accident?" Ash scoffed and turned to look at Agatha after she had finished the first part of their story, "Is that what you're calling it?"

"Do you want to know what happened or not?" Agatha asked heatedly while passing him some water, "Drink slowly," she said – her tone no less heated.

Once Ash had ingested more fluids, Agatha began again, "Fortunately your Mother was down here with whom we believe is...your Father?"

Ash didn't react.

Agatha raised her eyes to look at Lance who was pacing around the room anxiously. He shrugged his shoulders to Agatha's silent question and then kept pacing.

"Whoever he is" Agatha continued, "your doppelganger or blood relation aside, they are both fine. Cynthia and Misty are alright-" Agatha caught the intake of breath from Ash when she mentioned Misty and let out a tiny smile. "Misty was down here with Tracey – who made it back in one piece, although he is slightly traumatised." Agatha added with a nod when Ash turned to look at her.

"Understandable, under the circumstances – we have yet to gain any pertinent information from him. I think he's waiting to speak to you." Agatha swallowed before continuing, "Cynthia was down here, taking care of Cyrus who is also...well..."

Ash looked at her incredulously and then looked at Lance for confirmation who just scowled and nodded, "Cyrus? Cyrus is here?" Ash asked, his voice sounding hoarse and painful.

"We didn't invite him, he just has information that we need." Agatha said sounding very unhappy. Ash moved his gaze between the both of them, "More on that later," Agatha said, "when you can stand again." She said pointedly when Ash opened his mouth again.

Too tired to argue, Ash shut his mouth again but glared at her as best he could to let her know what she would be dealing with. Agatha almost chuckled at his expression, "Brock – despite his numerous injuries is holding up well. He hasn't woken up yet, but he has more substantial wounds – the Doctor's are optimistic about him."

There was another pause and Ash knew that the good news was over, "unfortunately," Agatha's voice didn't waver, but she looked at Lance who had turned away from the both of them, "Clair passed away from her head injuries before this all happened."

Before Ash could open his mouth Lance turned around quickly and fixed him with a stare, "It's not your fault – none of this is and, I..."

Ash met his stare as Lance failed to speak, "How many?"

"We had over 200 people here before the...attack," Lance spat out the word, "we now have 86."

Ash let out a breath and Lance turned around again, "Most of who we have left are the Gym Leaders and the Elite who hadn't made it back yet." He continued speaking starkly and it made Ash wonder enough to speak up and ask.

"How long have I been asleep?" He looked at both of them when neither answered, "Since the attack?" He clarified, "I can't remember if there was a time in between when I did wake-"

"15 days," Agatha finally said and Ash let out a quiet groan.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Agatha said briskly while refilling up his cup of water, "you no doubt needed it."

Ash almost choked on in water in his haste to speak, "It's been 15 days! We don't have the time to waste! We need to leave-"

Agatha took the water from him and then laid her cane over his stomach, "It has been 15 days and nothing has happened, who or what has not attacked us again.

"Just because he hasn't attacked you in the last 15 days doesn't mean he won't in the next 1 or 2!" Ash knew he was trying to shout to get his voice across but it only sounded like a hoarse whisper.

"Regardless of how or when they will next attack, we had no information - Tracey refuses to say anything as does Richard, Brock and yourself have been comatose and Clair unfortunately is no longer here."

"Then you should have left!" Ash countered, "Packed up all you could and escaped from the immediate area, nothing around Victory Road is safe!"

"I will not be ousted from my home." Agatha said imperiously and Ash just stared at her, disdain slowly coming over his features, "Then you will die," Ash finally said quietly.

"It's a good thing I'm already old then."

Ash looked at Lance with incredulity and Lance just shook his head and looked at Agatha with complete frustration, he must have had the same argument with her.

"You may be old but not everyone else is – instead of thinking about yourself for once why don't you think about everyone else and their wants and needs?" Ash viciously ripped into Agatha as he would get no help from Lance it seemed. "...or did you forget how his Shadow Ball easily ripped apart the Indigo Plateau?" Ash said with a snarl.

Agatha's smiled was almost sinister, "Of course I remember, I was there to pull out the remains of those who had perished because of it."

"And I saw what did it – I know what's down there Agatha, waiting in Victory Road for us." Ash shook his head, "I can't even begin to imagine how we're going to defeat it."

Agatha abruptly stood, "That will be for another time, it has been a trying few days and I will forgive your insolence towards me, in light of what you have been through." She threw a meaningful look at Lance before slowly walking to the door and out of sight.

"My insolence?" Ash spoke out loud to the room, "What, like I'm 10?"

Lance let out a snort and covered his face with his hands before making his way to the now vacated seat. "Whatever she expected, I don't think it was quite this – and despite her toughness and cynicism, she was worried about you Ash."

Lance played with the slightly frayed ends of one the blankets covering Ash, "When she says the Indigo Plateau is her home she means it, she has rarely left these walls since she became a member of the Elite Four, where you and I see it as a potentially gilded cage, she sees a home, a place she is safe. I don't think she ever imagined to see part of it destroyed in her lifetime." Lance met Ash's eyes, "I tried to convince her to leave, but she wouldn't budge and I couldn't leave her alone – none of us could."

Ash took a moment to study Lance, "You look like shit, when was the last time you slept properly?"

Lance smirked lightly, "Since you left for Victory Road."

To that, Ash said nothing. He wanted to though, he wanted to blurt out everything, let Lance know what happened, tell him what he couldn't even tell Brock – about the blood pact, the fear, the hopelessness. He wanted to apologise for taking Clair in and not bringing her back safely, another promise he broke.

Instead he just chuckled lightly, "The pair of us..." he wiped away the wetness behind his eyes, "I don't what would have been worse, being in Victory Road or waiting around for us to come back, especially when the others came back first."

"I know you're going to blame yourself and I know there isn't a damn thing I can do to change that, but can your self-pity and blame wait until after this is all done with? I'll join you on a retreat if you like, or fly you to any remote place and leave you there if that's your wish, but just for now – can we not face the reality of how useless we are?" Lance asked, bitterness lacing his tone.

Ash laughed sardonically with an edge of hysteria, "You want to pretend differently? Like we're some gods that can overcome anything?" Ash glared at Lance who was staring at his shoes, "Your stupid cape and title be damned Lance, we're not super heroes and we're not dealing with something light and fluffy! He kills things for sport! He can read minds! He's-"

"I don't care." Lance interrupted shortly; he raised his head and looked at Ash who stopped his tirade immediately, "I don't care." Lance said again simply, "Clair is dead and...I know I'm supposed to feel sad and upset and horrible, but I don't. I don't feel anything – Christ, I felt more when I pulled Jasmine out from under the rubble!"

Lance clenched his fists, "Clair was my cousin, my blood – family! And I find myself caring more about people that aren't my family, I find myself worrying about everyone here, everyone out there," he gestured around the room in an effort to suggest the other regions, "the Pokémon that are suffering, I care about them." Lance sounded resigned, "We're not superheroes Ash – but right now we are all everyone else has and for fifteen days it was only me – I cannot do it by myself!"

There was silence for a brief moment after Lance's outburst before the Dragon Master spoke again, "I don't care what's inside Victory Road, I don't care if you're feeling like you have nothing else to give – or if you feel like there is nothing we can do. I don't care that people are divided, that Blackthorn Clan is breathing down our necks, that someone is leaking information or whatever personal bullshit is going on. There is a way, there is always a way, hell or high water we will find one."

Ash perused Lance briefly, "Why do I get the feeling that if I was in better shape you would be punching me right now instead of speaking like some martyr."

Lance coughed lightly, "Your belt."

Ash shut his eyes briefly, of course...his belt.

"You went away with five balls on that belt and Pikachu, now there is no Pikachu and one missing-"

"Pikachu is fine...I think." Ash said hoarsely, "He's in the Master Ball on my belt; he wouldn't go into his Pokéball – ever, no matter what. Professor Oak gave it to me...just in case. But...but..." Ash shut his eyes and relived the moment.

Lance spoke his name, urging him to continue, "Bayleef...she was caught from behind...one of the – we ended up calling them the 'Defiled Ones.' And Snorlax...he sacrificed himself so Brock and I could get away." Ash sniffed, "And now they won't ever get to rest properly, stuck in that miserable, fucking hole in the ground...!" He let out a roar and struck his fists on his bed and thighs erratically to try and force out his rage.

It didn't take him long to get tired and stop, "I'm sorry," Lance said and Ash could tell he meant it, more than anyone.

"I agreed to go, I knew the risks and so did they." Ash said bitterly. "There is only one to blame and he's currently biding his time in Victory Road, which is why we all need to leave."

"And go where?" Lance asked.

Ash threw his hands up, "Anywhere, just far away from here."

"Ash, we could run to the goddamn Moon, but I'm pretty sure that whatever is down there will follow us, if we stay here...we have a pretty good chance of watching the enemy, seeing what he does – especially with any information you guys can give us."

"I'm giving it to you now, run – get away. Staying here and watching him won't do you any good if he decides he wants to 'play' and send another Shadow Ball our way!"

"You don't know for sure that he will!"

Ash scoffed, "That's like saying Water is 'clear' instead of blue." Ash fixed Lance with a hard stare, "He will pick us off Lance and then what? Who will be left to find this 'way' you speak of?"

Lance let out a sigh and stood up, "You need rest, I'll come back and see you later – we're going to have to get you up and moving in a few days if you feel up to it."

"You didn't answer my question Lance," Ash muttered loud enough for his friend to hear as he walked to the door, "yes I did," Lance said firmly as he shut the door behind him.

Ash stared at the closed door and tried not to let the haunting laughter saturate through his mind again.

* * *

Misty let out a sigh as she let the dressing dribble down from her fork onto the remaining salad she had, "It's been fifteen day's Tracey, isn't there something about how the longer a coma goes on, the worse the percentage is of a person ever waking up?" Misty whispered across the table to her friend, he patted her gently on the hand but didn't say anything.

Misty scowled and turned to Bill who had just taken a seat next to her, "So what exciting business do we have for today? Some Pokémon battles? Watching a movie? Or hmmm, perhaps another trip down to the infirmary to wait the paint dry, oh sorry! I meant watch Ash and Brock sleep!"

Misty whapped him over the head and hushed him as the other people in the dining area turned to look at them. "And pray-tell, what exactly are you doing?" Misty asked, sass laced through her tone.

"I," Bill started haughtily, "am eating lunch!" He took a bit of his noodle stir-fry with relish and sent Misty a cheeky wink.

"What else is new," Lance said as he slipped in beside Tracey who obligingly moved over to allow him in so that Lance now sat opposite Misty and Tracey opposite Bill.

"Ah look at that, the Dragon Master arrives and I immediately lose my appetite," Bill sneered. Lance said nothing but took another bite of his food, swallowed and then appraised the genius, "And yet – you seem perfectly comfortable eating my food any other time."

"Your food?" Misty interrupted in bewilderment with a warning look to Bill.

Lance took another bite, "Who do you think pays for all of this?" He gestured with his fork to their various plates, "The League has always been a non-profit organisation." He continued into the shocked silence at the table, "If you choose to become a member of the Elite, it comes with the stipulation of being able to afford and manage the Indigo Plateau, so if something like this happens, the Elite Four are essentially paying for your free board." Lance smirked, "Why else would Agatha be so strict in keeping things tidy? If you lose your appetite around me, sucks for you – but I find it amusing how you can't eat in front of me, yet you manage to chow down on the food I help provide."

Misty pursed her lips slightly, amused at the look of shock covering Bill's features while Tracey just looked resigned. Bill went to pick up his fork and it was a few seconds before he stuffed another piece in his mouth, Tracey and Misty met each other's eyes and shared a look of relief that there wasn't going to be another argument between the two – as there had been nearly one every night since Bill's arrival.

He had arrived not long after the collapse of the right side of the Indigo Plateau, he said he held information as to who was the snitch – except the person in question had perished in the fire and yet still more information was leaking to the already panicked regions.

Tensions were running high and Bill and Lance seemed to manage best by taking it out on each other; Whatever grudge they had against each other, Misty didn't know – but most of the time everyone left the two idiot's to it.

"Still tastes like shit though," Bill muttered under his breath.

Missy rolled her eyes and looked around the room; she saw Falkner picking up some lunch and waved him over.

"Hey Falkner, how's Jasmine holding up?" Misty asked as he waved and came closer with his full tray.

Jasmine had been one of the lucky few who was found a day or two after the collapse of the right tower and partial wing of the Indigo Plateau. She, like most of those who made it back to the Indigo Plateau, had gone to the roof to watch Lance bring back Brock and Ash from Victory Road and send up congratulations to the both of them.

Unfortunately things had not worked out that way, the roof had collapsed in on itself and the subsequent fall had taken out many people instantly. She had been one of the last to be found alive – extremely dehydrated, and with both a broken right arm and leg, she had been very lucky to escape as she did.

"She's good, grumpy of course that she can't get out of bed yet, she's demanding a wheelchair so I can wheel her around, but I don't think she's quite up to that yet. She still gets tired after every meal."

Misty let out a little giggle, "I can see why she would be frustrated, do you think she would be up to visitors later on today? I'd like to see how she's doing."

Falkner looked surprised at that, "Yeah – of course she would love to see you. I thought Master Lance would have told you?"

Four heads looked towards Lance who kept his face steadfastly down and kept eating without saying anything.

"He's been and visited once or twice, sorry Master Lance – didn't know it was a secret." Falkner let out a laugh into the awkward silence that followed, however his eyes were narrowed suspiciously.

Lance dropped his fork, "It's not a secret, I only visited her once the day after she was found – when she wasn't taking too many visitors as you all remember and then once about a week after, when I assumed everyone was already seeing her. I didn't realise it was my job to pronounce it to the Plateau."

He picked up his fork again to begin eating, ignoring Bill's snide comment of 'touchy' and the weight of Misty's gaze on him.

While Falkner and Misty continued their conversation, Lance mulled on the information he had just received. In truth Lance had seen Jasmine a lot more than once or twice, he visited her nearly every evening. She had always seemed happy to see him – which was surprising considering it was obvious she hadn't told her fiancé about their late night meetings.

He hadn't meant for it to be a secret, he didn't care whether people knew or not. The night time was the only time he had a moment to himself, during the day everyone wanted a piece of him, whether it was to pick his brain, gain reassurance or strategise. The night was for him and he wanted to spend a little of it with someone he enjoyed spending time with.

He didn't want to read too much into why Jasmine didn't tell Falkner about...however he put it; it was going to sound clandestine no matter which way it was explained. It also meant the gift he had prepared for her earlier wasn't going to fly.

He did know she was getting bored, so he had gotten her a little gift to cheer up until she was up and about. Her entire right side was in a severe amount of pain which meant that getting her around without it causing more pain was out of the question, at least until the bruising went away.

Her gift wasn't easily hidden...which meant that she would have had to break the news to Falkner, first he had to find out why she was keeping things a secret.

"There you go Bill, instead of watching 'paint dry' you can come with me to see Jasmine." Misty turned to her friend after Falkner had said goodbye.

"Woo!" Bill said sarcastically and dodged Misty's second thump.

"Paint dry?" Lance asked with one eyebrow raised at the two, Misty let out a sigh and with a side-eye glare to Bill explained, "Ash and Brock – still sleeping." She added forlornly.

Lance studiously avoided everyone's gaze and continued eating; choosing to not say anything but he could feel their eyes on him and knew he was a second away from being asked about any change.

"It's eerie isn't it?" Bill interrupted and for once, Lance had never been so happy to hear the Genius speak, ever. Misty shut and opened her mouth for a few seconds, before addressing her friend, "What is?"

Bill used his fork to point over in the direction of Delia & Richard Ketchum, "How much Ash looks like his Father."

Lance didn't bother looking over in that direction unlike Misty and Tracey, he however, did take the opportunity to sneak a look at Bill to see if his hunch was correct.

It was.

Bill was looking directly him, which meant he noticed Lance had deliberately avoided talking about Brock and Ash. He knew one of them was awake, not which – but it would be pretty easy to guess really.

Bill gave a short subtle jerk towards Misty and Lance shook his head again. He didn't miss the black look that crossed Bill's face but nevertheless the two broke their connection when Misty and Tracey moved their heads back.

"It was bit weird, I will admit," Misty laughed – although it was hollow. Lance had remembered the look of joy on her face when she had seen Richard from behind and the crushed, bewildered look on her face when he had turned around. Arguably amusing at the time, though he supposed what she felt was close to what he did when he pulled Jasmine out.

"So, when are you proposing we go and see Jasmine?" Bill asked, changing the subject again. Misty pursed her lips in thought, "I need to see Mrs. Ketchum as well – and she normally goes and helps with the Laundry while Mr. Ketchum naps, so I'll see her then around one, it's 12.30 now...how about we meet at 2.30 and go from there?"

"Alrighty, that gives me two hours," he grinned wickedly, "how to annoy The Dragon Master for two hours I wonder?"

Lance rolled his eyes before standing and picking up his plate, "You do that just by breathing."

As he walked away, Lance could hear Misty shouting at Bill not to annoy him too much, not that it would do any good. The two dumped their plates and trays in the receptacles provided and Bill continued to follow Lance without saying anything.

Nothing needed to be said really, they both knew where Lance was leading them and Lance preferred to engage with Bill as little as possible, however, because of Cyrus, very few people were allowed access to the medical wing, which meant Lance had to let Bill in.

Lance swiped his card to the doors and nodded at the guards who said nothing, Bill walked on through, still saying nothing. "I don't know why he doesn't want anyone to know just yet, but he's not...quite right." Lance spoke stiltedly as they drew closer to Ash's door.

"...generic not right, or Cyrus not right?" Bill asked and if it wasn't for the fact that Lance knew the genius so well, he almost would have called it 'flippantly.'

"Not sure yet, I let him rest while I had a meeting with the other members of the Elite and then we had lunch...here we are."

Bill waited briefly outside the door with his hand pressing down on the handle, "You're not coming in?"

Lance shook his head, "No – he's seen enough of me for now, if anything he needs rest and to get his head back in the right space."

"The space that meets yours, correct?"

To that Lance said nothing and turned on his heel to walk away. Bill watched him walk to the end of the corridor before heading inside.

Bill hated these kinds of rooms, white and sterile with absolutely no life to them whatsoever. The beeping was incessant and it smelt like death.

He walked over to Ash – who hadn't acknowledged him when he walked in to check if he was as awake as Lance said.

The Champion's eyes were open at least and his breathing steady, two good signs at least. "So, you are awake." Bill said as he stood next to the Champion's bedside.

"At this present moment, unfortunately yes." Ash let out a snarky reply which Bill grinned at. Ash turned his head to look at Bill and then let out a smile, "How are you Bill?"

"Better than you at this current moment," Bill said and then jauntily eased his body into the chair next to the bed, "but you had everyone worried," his words weren't pointed, but Ash knew Bill well enough to know who he meant.

"So I've been told." Ash said quietly.

There was a slight pause before Bill spoke up, "You've probably been told how most people are – your brand new family member included." Bill raised a brow and waited for Ash to take the bait, when he didn't that brow came back down.

"Lance said that you weren't...right."

Ash let out a slight growl, "And what else has Lance said?"

Bill moved his head from side to side thoughtfully, "Not a whole lot unfortunately – If it wasn't for the fact he was so tired then I wouldn't have caught on to you being awake. He wouldn't have brought me here otherwise. I can't believe I'm saying this – and don't tell him – but he's right in this instance, you're not the same."

"And what, exactly, were you expecting?" Ash asked tightly.

"Not a coward," Bill spoke baldly and there was a tense pause for a moment before Ash let out a laugh that sounded dry, "Tell me Bill, how's Brock looking at the moment? How are the people that died looking...the Plateau?"

"Brock is looking worse for wear, the people who died I don't particularly care about – same with the Plateau, however you are looking like I imagined Cyrus to look before he became what he is, that's not comforting – especially for our Champion."

"If you don't care about the Plateau – or the people that died, why the hell are you here?" Ash hissed and then coughed heartily. Bill handed him his cup and straw which Ash took ungratefully.

"I'm here at Misty's request, to help figure out what information we do have – the 'Pokémon Language' for example? Why Cyrus is the way he is, all this kind of genius stuff that no one else has been able to figure out either – oh I'm also charged with finding out who has been leaking out information to the general public. I'm a busy little bee – but you wouldn't know that, being in Victory Road for as long as you were, I can only assume you think it's all about how bad you've had it."

Ash rolled his eyes, "I always wondered why Lance didn't like you, and I'm beginning to figure out why."

"Hmm, yes." Bill swiped back some of the hair that had fallen over his eyes, "But then again you've never acted like Lance till now – you should really watch out how much time you spend with The Dragon Master, it's showing to be a bad influence."

"Why do you two hate each other so much?" Ash asked with a casual interest, "It's one of the few things Lance has never told me, so I'm assuming it has to be something pretty big."

"Nice try Champion, but you forget who you're dealing with." Bill shook a finger at Ash playfully, "Let's not change the subject – we are dealing with you and how different you are." Bill suddenly went serious, "You haven't met Cyrus recently so you don't fully comprehend what we are dealing with, and so I'll grant a bit of leeway for that, however I won't let you continue with your ignorance." Bill lent forward and fixed Ash with a stare, "He is – with no small amount of human control, becoming what the Pokémon are. Insane, crazy, mental – call it whatever you want to-"

"He's not turning into anything," Ash said patiently, almost patronizing. "If we are dealing with the same thing, then he's being controlled – what you're seeing isn't him doing that to himself as a  _result_ of what has happened to him, it's what's happening to him now – something is doing that to him now."

Bill narrowed his eyes, "How?"

Ash smirked, "You can find out – like everyone else will when we go into that meeting Lance is so eager to have, then once I'm finished – you can try and talk down to me some more, but I guarantee you won't be able to, not after what I've seen."

Bill stared at him and Ash turned his head away to stare into space again, "I may have been asleep for the last two weeks Bill, but nothing much has changed and if you call me a coward again, you will regret it."

Bill stood up, "Is that a threat?" He asked, almost amused.

"I know you want to compare me to Lance, shove all us Champions into the same pigeonhole, but I won't be manipulated by you or anyone else, I've enough of it to last me a goddamn lifetime. Try it again – and you will see exactly why not only I am telling you to leave in the first place, but-" He broke off with a cough, spasms hitting him on all sides, Ash outstretched his arm to Bill who was becoming blurrier, the acrid taste of blood was filling up his throat making him gag and choke, he couldn't make a sound, couldn't make out anything, black dots were covering his vision and suddenly there was nothing...

* * *

Ash Ketchum jolted awake, sweat covering his brow, a gasp on his lips and his whole body aching. There was another gasp beside him and a cry of his name before he felt hands covering him gently; he turned his head slightly to see his Mother there, smiling at him gently. "Hi honey, lay back down-"

Ash ignored her and instead grasped her hands, "Have I woken up before?" He asked her quickly.

"Ash, honey you need to rest-"

"Mom!" Ash's voice broke as he let out a shout as loud as he was able to and tightened his hands before looking her in the eye, "This is really important – have I woken up before?" He grit out each word and fixed her with such seriousness that Delia hurried to answer her son, "You haven't really woken up, your eyes have fluttered and you have talked in your sleep a couple of times – but nothing like this." She swallowed and ignored the pain her son was inflicting on her hand.

Ash was staring somewhere to the left of her head, sweat beads clung to his forehead, he was panting with exertion and looked like he had just come out of a nightmare.

"Ash?" She squeezed his hand back while questioning what was going on.

Suddenly the look of bewilderment on her son's face turned to mutinous determination. "He's playing with me," Ash whispered with a low growl that Delia caught. She furrowed her brow and tried to catch her son's eye, "Who's playing with you, Ash?"

"He made it seem so real...everything...is Bill here?" Ash suddenly raised his head and looked back at his Mother, she took a moment before nodding, "Is Cyrus here?" she nodded again, "Has Clair passed away?"

Delia's mouth dropped open, "How do you know all of this?"

Ash snarled and threw back the sheets covering him, "No way mister – back into bed now!" Delia did her best to order her son but found that she was out muscled, Ash removed all the stickers and lines attached to him and then grasped Delia by the shoulders, "Mom – I'm okay, and I have been for a while – he's just...I'll explain everything! But right now I need to see Lance; do you know where he is?"

The urgency in her son's tone and the imploring in his eyes nearly undid every maternal instinct she had, "Mom – I'm sorry, I know you don't understand and I'm really happy to see you're okay, but I'm leaving this room with or without your consent and I'll get to sit down a hell of a lot faster if you help me now."

Delia bit her lip, "It's midday – he'll be having lunch in the dining area." Ash sent her a grin – the same one he normally sent, the one that had broken her heart more than once, kissed her on the forehead and dashed out of the room he was in.

Delia watched him turn right and shouted out that he should go left. He yelled a thank you as he marched in the other direction; she let out a fond smile at her son's antics.

She looked at the now empty bed, one she had spent almost two weeks sitting beside waiting for her little boy to wake up. She dug her hands into the sheets briefly and let out a few tears and sobs of joy that he was now awake and seemed as healthy as ever.

She refused to cry like this in front of him, occasionally she would let out a few small ones, but letting go like this – this was reserved for when he couldn't see, when he sent her thoughtful gifts for her birthday, after he called on Mother's Day, when he told her he loved her after every monthly video call, when he left on another journey or whenever he came back to visit, safe and sound.

Delia let the last few tears fall before wiping them away, and started to make up the bed again.

She had spent too long sitting next to hospital beds anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge, massive, gigantic thanks to BlackPsych for editing this chapter so thoroughly, reviewing and giving me a great deal to think about with your rather brilliant review. I could answer most of your questions, but I won't unless asked – although some may be answered below.
> 
> The twist at the end may be jarring to a few of you – it's meant to be and all will be addressed early on the next chapter, some of you may be disappointed in the direction this is going, some of you may not be, but as always, there is a reason why i'm doing this. Scary Pokémon needs to be addressed and to make him scary – you guys need to know what he's capable of and playing with Ash's dreams, making him believe in something this heavy – messing with his mind, scary no?
> 
> It also sets up something that's been brewing for a while in my brain (it's going to be pretty heart wrenching (not gruesome) just painful. You will know when – and if not, there will be an AN at the bottom of the chapter to let you know. In other words, good things take time.
> 
> Fourthly, I hope the wait was worth it – sorry for how long it was *shakes fist at technology* and again, sorry for my little meltdown. I hope you guys enjoyed it, as always any comments, concerns, etc – greatly appreciated.
> 
> Redenzione.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash has woken up - from what? Jasmine and Lance grow closer.

Wishing he had the forethought to put on shoes, Ash ploughed his way through the halls of the Indigo Plateau with a single-minded determination that belied his early comatose state. He added a coat to the list of things he wished he had put on as a small, cold gust of wind came through an open window and danced upon his skin, it also widened the back of his thin nightgown and made the women who just passed him gasp and then blush.

Ash was used to people looking at him wherever he went, most of the time he could get away with only a few furtive ‘no it can’t be, surely not’ glances and gasped whispers before he booked it. This, however, was something new entirely.

Running around the crumbling walls of the Indigo Plateau in nothing but boxer shorts and an open back hospital gown was sure to raise more than a few eyebrows. The route to the dining area was longer than he remembered; then again he had never been in the medical wing of the Plateau and, of course, many of the hallways had been cordoned off due to structural damage.

Managing to dodge between people, smiling at those who either stared at him blankly or with shocked surprise as they recognized him, Ash finally made his way to the dining area and looked around for the familiar shock of red hair. He saw a few peaks up at the balcony and strode towards the stairs, a determined air following in his wake. Ash was so focused on his task, he missed the taken aback stares of Paul and Dawn who were also in the dining area.

People moved out of the way for him as he made his way over to Lance, who was sitting and eating lunch with Agatha. He stopped in front of them, slightly out of breath and with his bruised side protesting against his vigorous effort to get where he needed to go.

The two Elites stared at him as he let out an out of breath ‘hi’ and then placed both his hands on the back of a chair in front of him to rest against; Agatha recovered first and after initially giving Lance a disgusted look as his mouth was open in surprise and had a few sprigs of masticated pasta falling from it, she addressed Ash with slight amusement. “Would you like to sit down?”

Ash nodded, still wheezing slightly and pulled out the chair to sit down, “I need to talk to the two of you.”

Agatha snorted and took a sip of her drink while Lance chewed ferociously trying to rid himself of the pasta in his mouth, “That, Ketchum, is obvious. For you to be running around after being out for nigh two weeks and wearing . . . that . . . .”

She sniffed down her nose and him and Ash rolled his eyes, “I don’t think my fashion choices are really that big a deal at the moment—”

“No?” Agatha asked, her eyebrows raised, “Tell me, now that everyone has no doubt seen or heard about you running around in such a state, after knowing you have been ‘recovering’ for two weeks, what do you think that suggests to them?”

Ash stopped for a minute before ignoring the implications, “It doesn’t matter—”

“Yes, Ash—it actually does,” Lance finally spoke up. “A lot has happened in the time you’ve been—”

“Clair has passed away right?” Ash cut off his friend and they both stared at him, shocked. “Bill has arrived? Cyrus is here?”

Lance looked behind him briefly to see if anyone was listening in, “How the hell did you know all of that?”

“First—answer me this. Is Brock awake? Has he been awake?”

Ash looked between them both and Agatha shook her head, “No—he hasn’t awoken at all.”

Ash paused for a second, “Have you noticed anything funny at all, anything to do with him sleeping—anything different between him and me?”

Lance furrowed his brow and looked to Agatha who was staring at him like he had grown another head, “Nothing out of the ordinary—why?” Agatha asked sharply.

Ash let out a sigh and finally sat back in his chair, “It’s hard to explain.” he said and knew immediately that it was the wrong thing to say.

“Try,” Agatha almost growled and bristled, “you come to see us—dressed in nothing but your medical gown and underpants after being comatose for two weeks, telling us that you ‘need’ to talk to us after enduring god knows what, yelling and screaming at Lance to ‘take down’ a Raticate of all things. Clair is dead, Brock is still asleep, Tracey isn’t speaking, you have your long lost father taking up residence in my crumbling home, and then you tell me something is ‘hard to explain’?”

Ash took a moment and then let out a wry chuckle, “I should have known—I really should have . . . .” Agatha puffed up and Lance laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Ash rubbed a hand over his face, “I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m sorry—for what you’ve all been through—it’s easy to shove it all under the rug if you’ve been asleep but . . . .”

He trailed off, remembering what he had seen while running around the halls of the Indigo Plateau moments before. The crumbling terracotta coloured stone, the flimsy tape blocking off areas, big slabs of stone lying on the once pristine floor—who knew who or what was under them. The tired faces of those left behind. What was once a beautiful, colourful, and immaculate building was now reduced to a drab and lifeless crumble of nothing. All the warmth and feeling of coming home was eradicated. It almost felt like a prison, as if there was no life in or outside the walls.

“When I was . . . asleep,” Ash began with slight hesitance, “I imagined . . . I _believed_ events were happening—I could see things happening even if I wasn’t physically there to witness them.”

He looked up at Agatha and Lance and found them staring at him—both looking extremely worried for his mental state. Ash let out a sigh, “Okay so you asked how I know about Clair, Bill, and Cyrus?” once Agatha had nodded Ash continued, “When I woke up—well when I thought I woke up, the two of you came into my room and proceeded to tell me what happened since I had been asleep for two weeks—you told me about Cyrus being here, you told me about Clair being dead, we talked about who had lived and who had survived the attack—uh,” Ash shook his head trying to remember what had happened in his dream state.

“Jasmine!” He almost shouted, “Jasmine was hurt!” he said—too happily for Lance who glared at him and Agatha who just closed her eyes in frustration. “Sorry,” Ash said while hunching his shoulders, he lowered his voice, “she was on top of the roof when it collapsed in, and she was one of the last to be pulled out?”

Lance just stared at him in astonishment, “You dickbag!” he finally whispered fiercely, “You’ve been awake this whole time while I’ve been coming to see you, haven’t you?” he threw a punch at Ash’s arm which connected and really hurt.

Ash let out a small cry of pain, “Ah, fuck—Lance, I may be up and moving but you don’t need to add more bruises to the already impressive display I have!”

“Children,” Agatha droned in deceptively casual as Lance straightened up to start a rebuttal, “we really do not have time for your . . .” she waved a hand, “whatever this is.”

She turned a sharp eye onto Ash, “We have more important things to deal with. Like how on earth do you know any of this? You saw it all in a dream? Ash, you were mentally and physically spent. You’re bruised over 78% of your body, you were running on nothing more than adrenaline—your body had gone into starvation mode—”

“And you both think that because I was shouting at Lance to take down a Raticate, went through all of what I did in Victory Road, and now that I ran around the Indigo Plateau in nothing but my underwear means that I’m not in the right state of mind at the present?” Ash threw out casually and fiddled with one of the clean forks on the table.

Agatha didn’t blink, “It’s a distinct possibility.”

“Oh for sure,” Ash said, “if it wasn’t for the fact that I could have stayed in the dream state for the rest of my life. Maybe awaken fifty feet below ground in a coffin, or be cremated accidentally—”

“Ash,” Lance started but Ash cut him off.

“But something felt wrong—I was wrong, you were wrong, everything just . . . wasn’t right. Close . . . but not right.”

“How so?” Agatha asked, curious as to what Ash was getting at.

“You for a start . . . you were trying to . . . you were being nice to me.”

Lance choked on his water while Agatha looked appalled, “Are you trying to infer that I cannot be _nice_?”

 She spoke the word like a disease and Ash raised an eyebrow in her direction because of it, “There is nice—nice like you and then nice like my Mom. You were in the middle of both.”

Agatha sucked in her cheeks and before she could open her mouth to speak, Ash looked at her with a deadpan expression, “You filled a cup with water and put a straw in it so I could drink from it.”

There was silence around the table for a few moments before Lance, amusement lacing his tone, spoke up “Agatha, you wouldn’t even do that for me.”

Agatha let out a snort, “This is ridiculous—“

Ash interrupted her again, “I saw Misty and Tracey sitting at a table, Lance you were there and Bill joined shortly after. You guys did your normal hate-for-no-reason banter—”

“There is a very good reas—”

“And until we know what that is, we will continue to say ‘no reason’,” Agatha chimed in as Lance interrupted, “close your mouth Lance, you’re spraying your food everywhere,” she finished distastefully.

“Bill guessed I was awake and for some reason you led him down to me; he and I had a conversation before I actually woke up and my Mom was there. That’s when I realised it was a dream—there is no way that my Mom wouldn’t be there when I woke up, ever, and . . . .” Ash trailed off and furrowed his brow as he tried to think about what else had happened.

Agatha took a moment to take all this in, “So what you’re saying is that . . . you were in a dream that happened but didn’t happen?”

Lance shrugged, “I did have lunch with those three yesterday and I did take Bill down to see Ash—although he wasn’t awake.”

“Any idea what he said to me?” Ash asked with a sidelong glance at Lance who shook his head. “Hmmm, he was antagonistic towards me in the dream, really antagonistic . . . well, at least for Bill.”

“Shock horror,” Lance said sarcastically.

“Antagonistic how?” Agatha asked, ignoring Lance.

Ash hesitated, “He called me a coward—kept trying to bait me . . . probably because in the dream, when I woke up, I told you guys that we should run, leave, get out of the Plateau.”

Agatha’s eyebrows rose to her hairline and Lance dropped his fork before letting out a laugh, “You’ve never run from anything in your entire life.”

“Exactly—which was my first jump into consciousness but why would he want me to think like that?” Ash asked almost to himself.

“He?” Agatha parroted.

“Oh, right—the Pokémon, the one in Victory Road that’s doing all of this,” Ash said shaking his head, “sorry—hard to keep track of who knows what right now.”

“A Pokémon?” Agatha asked, rather shocked.

“Yeah, he’s really old too—ancient. He said uh . . . he said Arceus was his brother—and currently his captive which would explain why I haven’t seen him.”

“Hold on,” Lance cut a hand across his food, “you’re saying this Pokémon is holding the possible ‘creator of the universe’ captive?”

Ash ran his tongue over his teeth and nodded, “Brock figured out he was blind—which is why I told you to take out the Raticate—he uses other Pokémon to see and doesn’t seem able to handle light for long periods of time; so the Arcanine you found? He’s probably using him to get a grasp of us and where we’re at with everything.”

Agatha shut her eyes, “Nadireous . . . Nadireous . . . .”

Ash looked at her and then back at Lance, “Bless . . . you?” he asked awkwardly.

Lance shook his head, “No—Cyrus . . . well sort of Cyrus . . . he, he’s not well.”

“Has he ever been?” Ash asked glibly making Lance chuckle briefly before sobering up and letting out a puff of breath.

“He has fits . . . he said he awakened something in Mount Coronet—something called Nadireous.”

“Nadir meaning the lowest point of something, Arch referring to the highest point, two brothers . . . two halves,” Agatha finished. “It makes sense, you cannot have life without death . . . if Arceus created, then Nadireous would . . . destroy.”

The three sat in silence for a moment, “And I suppose to know why . . . we would have to ask Arceus who is currently MIA.” Lance said at length.

“I’m not interested in ‘why’,” Agatha said harshly, “I’m only interested in stopping this . . . abomination before he can do any more damage.”

“Just that like?” Ash asked quietly and Agatha looked at him with steadfast eyes.

“No, not ‘just like that’; from what I gathered we are dealing with an Ancient Pokémon far beyond our understanding, a Pokémon that has been locked up in a cave for centuries—who has his other half, our creator, trapped god knows where. He is capable of rendering the Indigo Plateau to rubble if he so chooses, he can infect Pokémon and humans . . . .”

“I’m not ‘infected!” Ash spoke heatedly and Agatha raised a hand to hush him.

“She’s referring to Cyrus,” Lance said, “he has a mark—like the ones on the Pokémon? It’s on his tongue; it renders him incapable of giving us any information . . . unless we ask the ‘right questions’—also the more questions we ask . . . the more pain he is in.”

Ash grimaced, “On his tongue?”

Agatha nodded, “Basically. . . the more information we glean from him, the faster he dies.”

Ash blanched and his eyes widened, “Nothing should have this kind of power . . . .”

“No, they shouldn’t—question is, if he can do all of this, then what else is he capable of and why hasn’t he done it yet?”

It took him a minute to remember, but when he did, Ash let out a loud gasp that startled both Agatha and Lance. “The orb—what he asked me for—why he let me go, my pack, where are our packs? Brock’s—actually! He’s the one that found it!” Ash was speaking so quickly that Agatha and Lance barely had time to catch up.

Lance stood up briefly from his chair and pushed down on Ash’s shoulders to stop him from babbling, “Okay—Ash, we get it, but first things first,” he looked at Agatha who nodded at him, “first you’re going to need a check up.” he removed his hands from Ash’s shoulders and held up a hand when he protested, “Na-uh, I get it—that time is of the essence, I get that what we’re dealing is out of the ordinary and I’ll accept your dreamland. You know that—you know that I’ll believe you no matter what, but other people might not and besides,” Lance smiled at him, “humour your mother will you?”

Ash stopped for a second and then let his shoulders slump, “Yeah—yeah alright. When though?”

“This afternoon if we can get the Doctor back here from Viridian, if not, tomorrow morning,” Agatha said briskly, all business again. “Once you get the all clear—then we can call an emergency meeting.” she turned a fierce stare to Ash, “Until then you are on strict rest—no more running through the halls . . . especially like this.”

She sniffed down her nose at Ash who couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry Agatha, next time I’ll remember to put on shoes—hey what’s on the menu by the way? I’m starving.”

Lance laughed, “Looks like we may not need that check-up after all if you’re already asking for food. I’ll go and get you a tray so you can try a little bit of everything, I think—oh . . . .” Lance trailed off as he got up from his chair and turned around. His sudden silence got Ash’s attention and he leaned back in his seat to see why Lance had stopped talking.

Misty was standing there, trembling fingers barely holding onto her tray, Bill was standing behind her looking similarly shocked and staring at Misty like she was going to going to explode at any point. Ash immediately stood up; in his haste he banged his leg against the table and the screech of the chair being pushed back was grating.

Agatha usually would have said something, but this was neither the time nor the place, especially considering how dedicated Misty had been during Ash’s absence and how she hardly left his side while he had been asleep. If it hadn’t been for the combined efforts of Bill and Delia Ketchum, Agatha wondered whether or not the young woman ever would have left Ash’s side.

“You’re awake . . . .” her voice was shaky, like she couldn’t believe it. There was a joy too—an inflection that showed in the blooming colour finally returned to her cheeks. A smile that was tremulous, she took a cautious step forward.

Ash didn’t say anything. He noticed that she looked pale, there were shadows under her eyes which indicated her fatigue, she also looked thinner than he remembered. He hadn’t seen her in over a month; it seemed like she hadn’t been eating properly and judging by the lack of food on her tray—he was correct.

He perceived all that and should have mentioned those things, should have shown his worry for her. Instead there was only one thing running through his head; one thing that even the nightmare down in the bowels of Victory Road could never erase from his head if he tried.

“You were pregnant.”

He blurted it out almost like an accusation, when really it was just a culmination of things bubbling to the surface and that was the one thing that kept running through his mind – the one thing he couldn’t let go.

This time she really did drop the tray; the bang of the plastic against the tiled floor was loud and many heads turned to the direction of the sound.

Bill quickly placed his tray on an empty table to his right and grabbed a hold of Misty’s elbow, “Let’s go, c’mon Misty,” he whispered in her ear, but everyone in hearing distance no doubt heard him as the silence increased.

No one said or did anything as Bill pulled Misty away from Ash; she stumbled as she was jerked away and Ash could see tears falling out of her eyes. There was a gut reaction from him to go and hug her – to tell her everything would be fine; however, his body wouldn’t move. She hadn’t said yes, she hadn’t really confirmed the notion that she indeed was ever pregnant. However, her reaction suggested otherwise; the shock that he knew, the flicker of resignation that Brock told him and the fear of what Ash will do now.

No wonder she dropped her tray.

And where was the kid—boy? Girl? Were they unsure of their own gender? Ash didn’t care either way; he just wanted to know for sure whether or not he has a child out there. All the signs pointed to yes and Brock wouldn’t lie to him, nor would Misty lie to Brock—a conviction he stood by regardless of what he was sure anyone else thought.

“Ash?” Lance’s voice seemed far away and it wasn’t until he was shaken slightly that Ash managed to come out of his daze. “Ash!” Lance spoke urgently; he stood in front of his friend and peered into his face with worry, “Are you . . . is she . . . I mean . . . .”

Lance’s bewilderment aside, all Ash could do was shake his head and shrug his shoulders, “I don’t know,” Ash spoke on a sigh.

“But you said it?” Lance asked, “And it wasn’t a question either—you said it . . . rather assuredly. Did you always know?”

Ash let out a laugh, “If I did I wouldn’t have let Misty do her own thing all these years, no—Brock told me just before we got out of Victory Road.”

There was a snort coming from behind the young men as Agatha stood up, “Interesting timing.”

Ash let out a tired smile, “I guess he thought we were both close to dying and didn’t want to go out with any secrets between us. I don’t know, but I find it rather comforting the only secret he had was actually someone else’s.”

“Except everything that went down between him and Professor Ivy,” Lance pointed out.  

Ash shrugged his shoulders, “That’s different—Brock also doesn’t know what went down between Misty and I; it’s not the kind of thing you tell, you know?”

“As lovely as all this chatting is,” Agatha spoke pointedly and tapped her cane against the floor, “we need damage control.” she looked directly at Lance, “You will go and inform Cynthia and the rest, I will do my best to calm the masses and you,” she looked at Ash, “will go and rest before the doctor arrives to give you the all clear – you will not take any detours, you will not ‘visit’ anyone and nor will you argue with me. Am I clear?”

Too tired to argue, Ash chuckled and mock saluted before turning and shuffling away. He was a ways away before he remembered something and turned around with a sheepish look on his face, “Either of you know the way back to the medical wing?”

* * *

 

Jasmine liked looking outside at night; the stars were always so lovely and being cooped up inside the Indigo Plateau all day, being unable to leave her bed, was grating on her. Her father had always found it funny how she didn’t like staying inside her house but didn’t mind traipsing through caves for hours on end.

Maybe she was just a little more on edge than usual since there hadn’t been any stars to look at in a while and what with being attacked by a massive Shadow Ball and falling through the crumbling walls of the Indigo Plateau; it was more than enough to make her less sure of everything.

She let out a sigh and sat up with a wince; her left side still ached from the landing and her entire body was black and blue with bruises. Her left leg was broken along with her left arm—she was lucky it hadn’t been her shoulder. Both limbs were in a cast and many people had drawn all over them when they came to visit her the last few days.

Falkner had been lovely as usual, if not a bit overprotective. She supposed it was understandable but he seemed to forget she had steel in her bones; she would weather this storm and anything else that came after it.

There was a knock on her door and the smile that spread across her face was blinding, she waited most days for these nightly visits—clandestine as it sounded. The door opened and Lance popped his head around, took a quick look, and then jumped in and gently shut the door behind him.

“Hey,” Jasmine breathed into the darkness and followed his shadowy form with her eyes until he sat in the chair near her bed.

“Hey,” Lance smiled back. He sat awkwardly and was wearing clothes she had never seen him in before. Jeans and a hoodie—it looked remarkably strange on him, other than the red hair, he almost seemed . . . ordinary.

“Nice outfit?” Jasmine half said, half questioned.

Lance looked down at himself and then looked back at her and rolled his eyes, “Yeah I know, but it’s clothing—I’ll take what fits and keeps me warm. Speaking of which—you want me to close this?” He gestured to the window and Jasmine shook her head.

“No, keep it open, I like the breeze and looking outside.”

Lance gave her a little grin, “Going a bit stir-crazy, huh? I was wondering if that would hit you soon.”

Jasmine let out a small pathetic sigh and leaned back on her mound of pillows, “It’s okay I suppose, I should count my blessings. It could be worse.”

There was silence between them for a while, before Lance spoke up quietly, “Ash woke up today.”

Jasmine turned to look at him with an incredulous look on her face, “You didn’t think to open with that? How is he? Is he doing alright? Do you know what happened or what’s down there?”

She was leaning further forward until Lance leaned into her and pressed her back on the pillows with a fond smile, “Jasmine—breathe. He’s okay . . . for the most part.”

She let him push her back but kept her eyes on him, “For the most part?” she queried.

Lance paused, “I’m not sure—but he just seemed . . . vacant . . . like he was going through the motions. I may be wrong, I don’t know. I haven’t been on one of his adventures with him, so I’m not sure what he’s supposed to be like after . . . something like this, I don’t know if he has experienced anything like this before—whatever happened, it’s messed with him a little. More than he’s perhaps aware.”

“And Brock?” Jasmine asked after a slight pause. Lance shook his head and Jasmine let out a small sigh, “Does Ash know yet?”

Lance shook his head again, “No, he doesn’t, but it’s something I don’t look forward to telling him.”

Lance furrowed his brow and Jasmine reached forward to smooth her fingers over it gently, “I don’t suppose you do, but it has to be done and I don’t think anyone else has the strength right now.”

Lance chuckled and leaned away from her touch, ignoring the twinge in his gut and the slightly hurt look on her face, “You’re saying that like you think I do, it’s not strength that’s pushing me forward.”

Jasmine clicked her tongue, “Yes it is; you just refuse to see it. No one will ever thank you Lance, no one will ever show their gratitude towards you for making the hard decisions or doing what’s right instead of what’s easy, but when all this is said and done—it’s your name that will be remembered, whether you want it to or not.”

There was a slightly pause again before Lance broke it with a derisive chuckle and a roll of his eyes, “Far be it from me to argue with someone . . . .” he threw her a sideways smirk, “indisposed.”

She hit him the first night when he had awoken and frightened her with a grin asking, “How’s the cripple going?” she had lambasted him over the use of that word and he had since not used it. She still didn’t get that apology though. Typical Dragon Master.

“Or,” she sniffed with mock superiority, “you just have no argument against my first-class logic and don’t want to admit it.”

He sent her a sideways smirk, “You got me,” he said in a slow tone she knew meant he didn’t actually mean what he said.

“What happened to being nice to me?” Jasmine asked with a huff and small smile to let him know she was only joking, “I am the invalid here and I can’t do anything to get back at you.”

He met her eyes and they shared a conspiring grin—the ‘yet’ going unmentioned between them both.

Lance raised his hands in mock-surrender, “As it so happens, I have a gift for you— though I’m not sure you deserve it with how pushy you’re being tonight. I suppose it means you’re feeling better.”

“More like it means I’ve got nothing better to do all day but sleep and eat.” Jasmine said wryly, “Spending time with you is arguably the only mental stimulation I get all day!”

Lance paused for a minute, “So you would like something that would keep you . . . engaged as it were?”

He seemed cautious, wary even. A rarity for Lance. Jasmine narrowed her eyes at him, “What did you do?”

“Nothing—just got you a gift, like I said . . . .”

His voice was higher pitched—something she had never heard before, making him sound like a little boy who knew he was in trouble and tried to be cute to get out of it.

Holding in her laughter, Jasmine fixed Lance with a stare, “Seriously Lance—what did you do? If it’s something extravagant, you know I can’t accept it.” She looked apologetic at the thought and it made his heart swell for her.

He brought his hands into the large pocket in front of his hoodie, “Don’t worry—it’s nothing extravagant. Well not yet, he’s still got room to grow, but I think he would enjoy spending time with you while you recuperated and you can start the bonding experience.”

Jasmine’s mouth dropped open as Lance pulled out a baby Dratini, who blinked open one eye, yawned and then started to uncoil itself. “Lance—what? How? I . . . .” Jasmine stuttered as the Dratini slithered its way out of Lance’s hands and onto Jasmine’s bed. It stopped at her lap, gave her hand a quick lick or two in greeting and then curled up again to go to sleep.

Lance gave her a grin, “Your hatchling missed you.”

Jasmine looked between the pleased Lance and the slumbering Dratini with a horrified expression, “My hatchling? No—no!” Jasmine gasped and stilled herself when the baby on her lap gave a small mewl of protest at her moving too much and jostling him from sleep. She whispered a small ‘sorry’ to the hatchling who mewled again and went back to sleep.

She pulled a mutinous look at Lance who was leaning back in his chair, beaming at the pair. “Lance, take him back.”

Lance shrugged, “I can’t—he’s picked you. He’s been pitiful without you, crying and not sleeping or eating well. I’ve managed to get him eating and sleeping a bit more, but I think he will grow better now that he’s with you.”

“Picked me?” Jasmine asked incredulously. “What do you mean picked me?”

Lance chuckled, “It’s not hugely common, but sometimes when a Pokémon hatches they form a bond, or ‘pick’ a human for whatever reason. It can also happen a little later in life—like Mr Mime and Mrs Ketchum, Ash and Pikachu. They are good examples of ‘later-life bonding’.” Lance cleared his throat, “It’s rare however, for a Dragon Pokémon to not pick early as they are the more volatile, powerful kind of Pokémon and are hard to raise, which is why this kind of thing happens earlier usually—and as it so happens, this Dratini picked you.” Lance smiled at her and gently ran a hand down the back of Dratini who shivered slightly and then went back to sleep.

Jasmine looked aghast, “Oh my gosh—Lance! I stole him from you!”

Lance looked baffled for a moment before he burst out laughing; his laughter woke up Dratini again who gave him a petulant kind of look that was uncannily similar to the face Jasmine was currently showing, setting him off again.

It took the Dragon Master a minute before he managed to choke out a ‘sorry’ through his laughter and eventually calm down.

“You didn’t ‘steal’ him from me Jasmine,” Lance finally said to which Jasmine crossed her arms and turned her face away from him in anger. Lance let out a sigh, “Look, to be honest—I have enough Dragon Pokémon; you know that, hell everyone does. I don’t need another and quite frankly this little guy; he doesn’t deserve what Blackthorn has in store for him.”

Jasmine bit her lip and looked down at the Dratini lying peacefully in her lap. She stroked the Pokémon a few times, “You said he wasn’t eating—or sleeping well. Lance I don’t know the first thing about Dragon Pokémon, let alone raising one. What happens if—”

Hearing the panic escalate in her voice, Lance gently rested his hand over her own that laid on the Dratini, “Nothing will happen—you are amazing with your Pokémon, a type that hadn’t even existed till you and your father came across it, you two managed to figure out how to raise Steel Pokémon remarkably well. There is no reason you can’t do that with Dragon-type Pokémon.”

Jasmine huffed “This is a completely different scenario, at the time no-one knew what to do with Steel Pokémon and I had my Dad for help.”

Lance nodded, “Well—I may not be your Dad but if you even need any help you know you can always ask me.”

“Or,” Jasmine perked up, “you can just take him and all this worry will be for nothing.”

Lance sent her a bemused look, “I could take him, but it wouldn’t be the same.” Lance sent a pointed look to the slumbering Pokémon in her lap, “He would still miss you and respond 100 times better to you. It wouldn’t be like it is with my current Dragonite and he wouldn’t be used in battle—there would always be something missing between us.”

Jasmine glared at Lance, “Way to make me feel super guilty.”

Lance sighed, “I’m not trying to make you feel guilty, I am trying however to figure out what the problem is—why you are so reluctant to take what this Pokémon is freely offering you, what most trainers outside the Blackthorn Clan rarely get to experience with Dragon-type Pokémon.”

Jasmine opened her mouth and then shut it again in hesitation. Lance waited patiently for her answer and squeezed her hand in support.

“What if . . .” Jasmine started in a small voice, “what if—I grow attached? What if I start to really love this Pokémon and my other Pokémon get jealous? I had no idea about his bonding thing—what if that doesn’t happen with Steel Pokémon?”

Lance hummed, “Good question—one I don’t have an answer for and no-one does—yet. And yes—jealousy can occur but, with patience and training, Pokémon generally get over it. Have your Pokémon shown jealously before?”

Jasmine shook her head, “No—but . . . I mean this is a Dragon-type, not a Steel-type. It may exacerbate the situation.”

“It may, or it may not. I mean—your Pokémon don’t have a tendency towards jealousy and you won’t know unless you try; besides I’ve seen the way your Steel-type Pokémon are towards you. They adore you; I don’t think they will try to hurt this little guy if that’s what you’re worried about. If anything I think they will care as much for him as you will.”  

Jasmine sniffed, “What if Blackthorn decides I’m not good enough and come to take him away?”

Her question gave Lance pause, he stared hard at the Dratini, “They won’t.”

Jasmine gave him a knowing look, “Lance, you can’t honestly believe that.”

“They won’t,” Lance repeated firmly. “Even if they do—the bond is there now. It would damage Dratini in the long-term and he would be of no use to them. They can’t have that getting out. Besides . . . I wouldn’t allow it.”

Jasmine gave an amused huff, “You wouldn’t allow it?”

Lance squeezed her hand again and gave her a solemn look, “I wouldn’t allow it.”

Jasmine held that look, “I don’t know what to do Lance,” she whispered and squeezed his hand, “what if I make the wrong decision, what if he doesn’t meet his full potential—I know nothing about the Blackthorn ways.”

Lance shrugged, “Me either.”

Jasmine gaped at him and Lance let out another grin, “I train my Pokémon the way I want to—a way that works for me and the Pokémon. There is no right or wrong as long as the Trainer and Pokémon are happy and healthy. I may have been given the title ‘Dragon Master’ by the Blackthorn Clan, but it was only after everyone else started calling me by the title that the Clan decided to officiate it.”

Jasmine blinked, “That’s why they want you back then . . . they don’t know how you do it . . .?”

Lance grinned again and tapped her on the nose lightly, “And anything I tell you, make sure you keep it a secret.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jasmine tried one more time “But then he should be yours. You’re the Dragon Master for crying out loud! If anyone can bring out his potential, it’s you!”

Lance smiled, “Jasmine—he picked you. It’s not something you have to question or think about, Pokémon . . . they just know these things. And he knows that you’re the one for him, he’s just waiting for you to accept that.”

Jasmine didn’t say anything following that, Lance went to remove his hand but found that he couldn’t due to Dratini coiling his tail around both their hands and locking them in place. Jasmine smiled and let out a small laugh while Lance tried to remove his hand as gently as he could eventually giving up when Dratini opened an eye and growled lightly.

Lance glared at the Pokémon while Jasmine giggled, “You’ve been told.”

Lance tapped the hand beneath him gently in reprimand, “Now I can see why you two are meant for each other.”

Jasmine smiled and continued stroking Dratini with her other hand.

“Are you going to give him a name?” Lance asked as he watched her with the hatchling, making Jasmine look at him with surprise,

“Oh—I hadn’t given names to my other Pokémon. I suppose I didn’t think about it.”

Lance shrugged, “I haven’t either, it’s not a requisite for a Dragon Pokémon, I just didn’t know if you had named your other Pokémon and was wondering that’s all.”

Jasmine pursed her lips in thought and then let out a giggle, “Lance.”

Lance hummed to show she had his attention and she let out another giggle, “No, I could call him Lance.”

The Dragon Master lifted his head up sharply, horror covering his features. “No.”

“Yes!” Jasmine crowed with glee, she bent her head to have a look at the Dratini on her lap, “What do you think? Lance? Lancey? Lancelot?!”

Human Lance looked on in abject acceptance as the Dratini opened his eye again and mewled while Jasmine used her good arm to raise Dratini to her chest and give the hatchling a little hug, “Oh Lancelot—my little knight.”

Lance buried his face in his now free hand, muttering to himself about never doing anything for anyone ever again, before rising from the chair and heading towards the door.

Jasmine let out a gasp, “You’re leaving? Lance—I’m sorry, seriously. I promise I won’t call him that, it was just a joke, and I was just—”

Lance held up a hand, “I don’t mind about the name, call him whatever you want, but I have to go—the time.”

Jasmine leaned over to check the time while Dratini slithered back into her lap, “Oh gosh—that’s the time?” She sent a shocked look to Lance who was checking out the peephole in the door.

“Yeah, I’ve got to get going, hopefully now though you won’t be as bored during the day—he likes to play games, fetch and coil around your hand with his tail as you pull it away. He also likes his belly rubbed and he’s been fed already. I’ll make sure to bring some food for him tonight, we’re still figuring out what he likes and what he doesn’t.”

“Lance!” Jasmine whispered fiercely as he gently opened the door and turned back to look at her. Jasmine sent him a smile that she hoped showed her gratitude despite her earlier protests. “Thank you.”

He sent her a small grin and then disappeared through the door, leaving her again. She looked down at the Pokémon in her lap and smiled, feeling better now that she wasn’t completely alone again.

* * *

 

Ash didn’t completely ignore Agatha’s command for him to rest, he just decided once he was better dressed that he would rest somewhere else other than his room. He trailed down the hallway of the medical wing, searching for the room Brock was in. He walked past a heavily guarded door and realised that was Cyrus’ room and decided to go back the other way.

Another few doors later, Ash saw his mother sitting down and opened the door to see her knitting while Brock was asleep in the bed next to her. “Hey Mom,” Ash said as he walked over to her.

“Hi honey,” she replied warmly and put her knitting down to give her son a hug. He received it gratefully and sunk into her arms, “Everything with Lance went okay?”

He nodded against her neck and pulled away slowly, “Yeah—I think so. We still need to get everyone together and go over what we all know and form some semblance of where to go from here.”

Mrs Ketchum nodded and sat back down, “That’s good, it’s wonderful that you’ve woken up, it shouldn’t be long until Brock wakes up now.” His mother’s peppy nature never failed to make him smile.

Ash pulled up a chair and sat next to her while she continued her knitting, he raised a brow in question and she smiled, “When the Plateau was hit, a lot of people’s clothes and belongings were destroyed, everyone pooled their stuff together but I just thought it would be nice to knit a few things, socks, cardigans—it can get quite cold here I’ve noticed.”

Ash took a moment, “Why did he leave you?” he asked quietly, wonder almost in his tone. To her credit, Delia didn’t stop knitting, but the smile had left her face. “That is something you will need to ask him, I don’t know the answer myself . . . I’ve never had the courage to ask I suppose.”

‘Or the opportunity’ Ash thought darkly and then stopped himself; he had more important things to worry about than his parent’s relationship at present, “When the Plateau was attacked—were you hurt?”

Delia’s smiled returned, she looked up briefly from her knitting, “No—I’m one of the lucky ones. Cynthia and I were down here—Cynthia with Cyrus and myself with Richard. This side of the Plateau was relatively undamaged. Unfortunately, it happened to be the place where there were less people and well . . . .” Delia trailed off sadly and Ash let her, not wanting to think any harder about what happened. The guilt was already overwhelming and constantly reliving the moment wasn’t going to do much but drive him to drink.

“It’s not your fault Ash,” Mrs Ketchum spoke up, her knitting needles breaking the silence with their light clacking.

Ash smiled sourly, “I didn’t realise people were already blaming me. Good to know I suppose.”

“No-one is blaming you Ash, but I know you will blame yourself.” Delia put down her needles and turned her body towards her son. “You are my son and I know what you are thinking—what you tend to do when things go wrong, you don’t blame anything but yourself, ever, which leads you to get angry at everything and everyone around you.”

“And we don’t need that right now,” Ash interrupted, “yeah I get it. But it is my fault Mom—I went in there. I brought that thing out of Victory Road . . . I taunted it and I lost . . . .”

“Ash,” Delia implored and reached out a hand to her son. “No-one could have foreseen this, you did the best you could, no-one could have done better nor asked for more.”

Ash slouched in his seat, “I was told not to engage, just to have a look. I should have left the minute we found that crevasse; I should have told everyone to leave and just gone back in by myself. That way maybe . . . Clair would still be alive, Tracey would be talking, and Brock wouldn’t be in a coma.”

“Honey,” Delia got up and ran a hand through Ash’s hair, he shrugged her off gently, not feeling like he deserved her comfort at present.

“He just wanted me Mom—just me.” he turned to look up at her, tears coming out of his eyes unwittingly, “if it had just been me—then everyone else wouldn’t have been hurt.”

Delia furrowed her brow, “What do you mean, he just ‘wanted you’? What for?”

Ash was interrupted by the door opening; both he and Delia turned to look and were surprised to see Bill on the other side of the door, almost as surprised as Bill was to see Ash.

“Oh—I didn’t, actually stupid of me really . . . I should have guessed you’d be here, hey Ash . . . how’re you feeling?” Bill spoke awkwardly, hardly meeting Ash’s eyes.

“I’m okay Bill, glad to see you are doing okay.” Ash continued confusedly and looked at his Mom who bit her lip apprehensively. Ash looked back at Bill, “Did you need me for something?”

Bill lost a little colour and looked at Delia briefly before darting his eyes back to the floor, “No, I actually need to speak to your mother.”

Ash furrowed his brow while his mother packed up her knitting to take it with her. “Why would you need to—” he gasped as it hit him and he spun around to stare at his mother, “you knew . . . about Misty—her being pregnant?”

Delia looked slightly chagrined but kept walking towards the door, “Yes—I did know.”

Ash gaped as she kept walking and not acknowledging him further. “Were you never going to tell me?” Ash asked weakly, hardly believing that his mother had kept this from him.

Delia stopped at the doorway and Ash could see the rise and fall of her shoulders as she took a breath. “It was never mine to tell.” was all she said before she walked out the door and letting it close in her wake.

Ash stood there in shock for a good thirty seconds before spinning around and landing heavily on the chair his mother had just vacated. He bent over, stuck his head in his hands and concentrated only on breathing.

He could feel the blood rushing to his head and knew his breathing was becoming more and more shallow. He clutched his head so tightly he felt one or two hints of blood prick through, one rivulet ran down his forehead and he tasted it on his lips as it mixed in with the saltiness of his tears. He looked up at Brock, “Please—please . . . wake up. I can’t—I need your help. I don’t . . . .” he started hyperventilating and the pain in his side slowly pronounced itself, “I don’t know . . . .” Ash gulped in air and slowly collapsed onto the floor, trying to stay upright by holding onto the white sheet slightly covering Brock, but only succeeding in pulling out the other side, “. . . what to do.” Ash continued gasping and clutching the ache in his side as it strengthened.

The familiar black spots in his vision starting edging in and, in a futile effort to get them away, Ash started to beat his head to clear the fuzziness. 

It didn’t work and as he let out a scream of terror, Ash slowly gave in to the darkness surrounding him.

* * *

 

 

Ash woke up from his bed, clutching at the bed sheets, letting out a hoarse scream. He was still in the medical wing; his room was the same—white and sterile but this time there were no beeping sounds, no wires, and he was dressed in a loose shirt and boxer-shorts.

He clutched at his chest, felt at his brow for the blood that wasn’t there anymore, and continuously swallowed trying to calm himself down from what he guessed was a panic attack.

The laughter—the one that followed him everywhere, dark, malevolent and haunting; it echoed throughout his brain and around the room, the hot flush vanished and his whole body chilled rapidly to the point where he started shivering.

The laughter was interrupted by that ancient, all-knowing voice that served only to taunt him.

“Which one is real Ash Ketchum?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry, I know it’s been a while. Excuses? Other than life getting in the way – just the usual. I did get myself a new job and it’s kind of hard to rack my brain around all the ins and outs of that while trying to keep this story as non plot-holey as possible. Plus I’ve switched from Engineering to Medical….and I did an Arts Degree. Oy with the poodles already!
> 
> I don’t want to half-ass this, none of you deserve this, especially when effort has gone in to creating this world and making it work, I don’t want to just drop off part-way through and punk out. It’s not my style. 
> 
> So again, my apologies for the wait. Can’t believe I started this in 2013, it’s now 2016!
> 
> My goal for this year is to not go two months without putting up a chapter, so lets see what I can manage shall we? 
> 
> Many thanks for all your reviews and general interest, not only in the story, but my well-being. It’s so appreciated and I feel very blessed and thankful to have such wonderful people interested in this story. 
> 
> Once again - huge, gigantic thank you to the editor of this work BlackPsych. I swear, I sent this off in all it’s unpolished glory and the amount of work that goes in to making this work pretty. Sir, you are a god-send. 
> 
> And finally, my inbox is always open, I try to reply within 24 hours generally speaking. So if you have any  
> questions, comments, concerns, etc. Please feel free to drop me a line  
> 
> Hope you guys are having and will continue to have a safe and happy new year.


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